Using a unique dataset, we test whether households' deductible choices in auto and home insurance reflect stable risk preferences. Our test relies on a structural model that assumes households are objective expected utility maximizers and claims are generated by household-coverage specific Poisson processes. We find that the hypothesis of stable risk preferences is rejected by the data. Our analysis suggests that many households exhibit greater risk aversion in their home deductible choices than their auto deductible choices. Our results are robust to several alternative modeling assumptions. (JEL D11, D83)

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We examine if and how incumbent firms respond to entry, and entry threats, using non-price modes of competition. Our analysis focuses on service quality within the airline industry. We find that incumbent on-time performance actually worsens in response to entry, and even entry threats, by Southwest Airlines. Given Southwest's general superiority in on-time performance, this result is consistent with equilibria of theoretical models of quality and price competition, which generally predict differentiation along quality. We corroborate this intuition with further analysis, showing there is no notable response by incumbents when an airline with average on-time performance (Continental) threatens to enter or enters a route.

We present theoretical and empirical analyses of indirect network effects for a hardware market with vertically differentiated complementary goods. We demonstrate that the heretofore typical use of aggregate software counts can mis-measure the presence and/or magnitude of indirect network effects. We show this is true when there is correlation along the quality dimension between the marginal utility of software and either 1) the response of software supply to an increase in installed base, or 2) conditional variation in software availability. We illustrate this idea using a simple monopolistic competition model, and through empirical analysis of the 7 thgeneration console market.