American Economic Journal:
Microeconomics
ISSN 1945-7669 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7685 (Online)
Competition and Defaults in Online Search
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
(pp. 369–414)
Abstract
This paper offers the first systematic quantitative assessment of default-option interventions designed to mitigate Google's search dominance. By analyzing interventions in the European Economic Area (EEA), Russia, and Turkey, we find that across all three cases, changes to default settings effectively reduced Google's market share. The causal impact amounts to less than 1 percentage point in the EEA and over 10 percentage points in Russia and Turkey. Differences arise from intervention nuances, including the size of the targeted users' group, local market characteristics, and remedy designs. We discuss the complexity of assessing the interventions' impact on welfare deriving from quality responses.Citation
Decarolis, Francesco, Muxin Li, and Filippo Paternollo. 2025. "Competition and Defaults in Online Search." American Economic Journal: Microeconomics 17 (3): 369–414. DOI: 10.1257/mic.20230193Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- G34 Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Voting; Proxy Contests; Corporate Governance
- K21 Antitrust Law
- L13 Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
- L82 Entertainment; Media
- O14 Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
- P31 Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions