A Focus on Glenn Ellison

This week, TAP features the work of Professor Glenn Ellison. Ellison is internationally recognized for his theoretical analysis of learning in games. Additionally, in collaboration with his wife, MIT economics Senior Lecturer Sara Ellison (MIT Ph.D. 1993), he has explored the behavior of both Internet shoppers and Internet sellers. This work highlights the role of buyer search and seller obfuscation in Internet markets, and it also demonstrates the importance of tax avoidance as a motive for Internet purchases. Professor Ellison is the Gregory K. Palm Professor of Economics and Associate Department Head with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
 

TAP has recently published an interview with Professor Ellison that was conducted by Jacques Cremer of the Toulouse Network for Information Technology (TNIT).
 

TAP highlights many of Professor Ellison’s works. Listed below are a few of them. To see all articles TAP currently has online for Professor Ellison, view his bio page.
 

• In A Search Cost Model of Obfuscation, Ellison looks at retailers’ responses to consumers’ efforts to compare prices.

• Position Auctions with Consumer Search explores how ads shown by search engines like Google affect consumers.

 

• For a look at the development of open source software, Dynamics of Open Source Movements examines the economic theory that shows open source software can be effectively developed by altruistic volunteers; however, the business model will not always succeed.

 

• Lessons about Markets from the Internet discovers the importance of variety to consumers, as well as factors that limit price competition between online merchants.