Descrizione del progetto
Interventi di politica pubblica per una concorrenza leale nei mercati delle app
I mercati delle app, come l’App Store di Apple o Google Play, hanno attirato l’attenzione delle autorità di regolamentazione per la promozione delle proprie app rispetto a quelle di terzi, che può distorcere la concorrenza e danneggiare l’innovazione. Tuttavia, non c’è certezza su come intervenire in modo ottimale contro questa autoreferenzialità. Il progetto APPMARKETS, finanziato dal CER, intende valutare l’efficacia degli interventi di politica pubblica contro il «self-preferencing». Il progetto valuterà gli effetti e i meccanismi di diversi interventi attuati in tutto il mondo e li confronterà per convalidare le teorie esistenti. I risultati aiuteranno le parti interessate e le agenzie governative a sviluppare strategie adeguate. Il progetto condurrà quattro studi quasi-sperimentali approfonditi utilizzando dati a livello di prodotto provenienti dai mercati delle app mobili e integrerà i risultati in una comprensione olistica utilizzando protocolli di misurazione e analisi.
Obiettivo
App markets—such as Apple’s App Store or Google Play—have significant economic importance and drive digital innovation. In 2021, the App Store alone facilitated transactions worth over EUR 511 Bn, which equals the GDP of Sweden.
However, app market operators have also attracted severe scrutiny from regulators due to their integrated gatekeeper structure: they operate a marketplace while also competing within them with their own apps. This gives app market operators an incentive for self-preferencing: they promote their own apps over third-party apps, consequently distorting competition and harming app innovation.
Uncertainty remains regarding how self-preferencing can effectively be counteracted with public policy interventions. Although legislators have advanced bills to restrict self-preferencing, including the Digital Markets Act, existing theoretical models are scant, make mixed predictions, and lack empirical validation. This uncertainty is problematic because app markets represent a complex node of the digital economy where regulatory interference—if not done “right”—can likewise harm innovation.
This project will empirically evaluate which public-policy interventions against self-preferencing are effective in restoring app developers’ innovation incentives. It will (i) explain the effects, conditions, and mechanisms through which the interventions function and compare, (ii) permit a validation of existing theory, and (iii) aid stakeholders and government agencies in developing appropriate strategies.
To achieve this objective, this project will (i) conduct four in-depth quasi-experimental studies, (ii) which exploit plausibly exogenous policy-changes against self-preferencing, (iii) leverage unique time-series product-level data from mobile app markets, and (iv) integrate the findings into a holistic understanding using measurement and analyses protocols. An extensive communication plan ensures the transfer of scientific expertise into public knowledge.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsIstituzione ospitante
80333 Muenchen
Germania