The Geography of Trade on eBay and MercadoLibre

Ali Hortacsu, F. Asís Martínez-Jerez () and Jason Douglas
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F. Asís Martínez-Jerez: Harvard Business School, http://pine.hbs.edu/external/facPersonalShow.do?pid=10659

No 06-09, Working Papers from NET Institute

Abstract: We analyze geographic patterns of trade using transactions data from eBay and MercadoLibre, two large online auction sites. We find that distance continues to be an important deterrent to trade between geographically separated buyers and sellers, though at a lesser extent than has been observed in studies of non-Internet commerce. We also find a strong “home bias” towards trading with counterparties located in the same city. Further analyses suggest that cultural factors and the possibility of direct contract enforcement in case of breach are the main reasons behind the same city bias.

Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2006-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo and nep-int
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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