<p>My dissertation contains three empirical studies on firm and demand behavior in the U.S. high-speed Internet market. The first study examines the question that the probability of new entry varies with the characteristics of markets in which an incumbent firm is able to offer mixed bundling. Empirical findings present low entry rates in markets with high income and more years of schooling, because these markets are associated with low likelihood of switching. As the federal government aims to increase high-speed Internet access, more competition led by a new entry can increase high-speed Internet penetration and encourage the competitive provision of advanced high-speed Internet service. </p><p> The second study focuses on the relationship between Internet privacy concerns and offline businesses. The growth of online shopping has raised concerns about online privacy protection, which may lead consumers to be more likely to shop at offline stores. Empirical evidence suggests that Internet privacy concerns are positively related to the number of offline businesses, such as bookstores and travel agencies and the growth of offline businesses in the retail trade and the finance and insurance industries. This can provide interesting policy implications for local economies. </p><p> The third study examines two competing explanations regarding the demand for online health services: locations of consumers and the opportunity cost of time. The former expects that the longer distance to hospitals increases rural residents' demand for online health service, whereas the latter takes into account the possibility that urban residents whose valuations of time are high have a high demand for these services. This study finds that the demand for online health services does not vary with the location of consumers or the opportunity cost of time. The federal government has expanded this service in rural areas, which may provide limited benefits to these communities. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3561932 |
| Date | 19 June 2013 |
| Creators | Chang, Jieun |
| Publisher | University of Colorado at Boulder |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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