Free commuter newspapers and the market for paid-for daily newspapers

Konferenzbeitrag

We use a new dataset on the Swiss newspaper industry from 1999 to 2008 to estimate the substitution patterns between free newspapers and traditional media. Our identification strategy exploits the timing of free newspaper entry and allows for confounding trends. We find that the entry of free newspapers has no effect on the circulation of high quality newspapers, but a negative effect on the circulation of the incumbent yellow press. Moreover, free papers appear to be a complement to traditional news media for highly educated readers. Therefore, we conclude that the effect of free newspapers on consumer surplus is positive.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2010: Ökonomie der Familie - Session: Empirical Industrial Organization ; No. G9-V2

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Entertainment; Media ; Information and Product Quality; Standardization and Compatibility ; Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
• Subject: media ; newspapers ; free ; commuter ; variety ; targeting

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Masika, Michal
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Verein für Socialpolitik
• (where): Frankfurt a. M.
• (when): 2010

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/37488
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET