Working Paper: NBER ID: w21522
Authors: Xing Li; Megan MacGarvie; Petra Moser
Abstract: This article exploits a differential increase in copyright under the UK Copyright Act of 1814 - in favor of books by dead authors – to examine the influence of longer copyrights on price. Difference-in-differences analyses, which compare changes in the price of books by dead and living authors, indicate a substantial increase in price in response to an extension in copyright length. By comparison, placebo regressions for books by dead authors that did not benefit from the extension indicate no differential increase. Historical evidence suggests that longer copyrights increase price by improving publishers’ ability to practice intertemporal price discrimination.
Keywords: copyright; price discrimination; book pricing
JEL Codes: K00; N33; O3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| longer copyrights (O34) | intertemporal price discrimination (D15) |
| placebo tests on books by dead authors not affected by copyright extension (Y30) | no significant price increases (D41) |
| copyright length (O34) | elasticity of price (E31) |
| UK Copyright Act of 1814 (O34) | price increase for books by dead authors (B32) |