Yongmin Chen

About

Yongmin Chen is a professor and Provost's Chair in the Department of Economics at the University of Colorado Boulder. He specializes in industrial organization, with research interests that include vertical organization, price discrimination under imperfect competition, product differentiation, markets with search and switching costs, economics of innovation, and international trade and organization. Dr. Chen holds a PhD from Boston University, an MA from Renmin University of China, and a BS from Zhejiang Institute of Technology in China. His scholarly work encompasses over 60 journal articles that analyze a variety of economic topics such as dynamic price discrimination, product differentiation and price competition, product bundling, the competitive effects of vertical mergers, the legal and market determinants of innovation, and the operation of online markets with consumer search. Dr. Chen has contributed significantly to the field through his editorial roles, serving as an associate editor of the RAND Journal of Economics, and as a co-editor and managing editor of the International Journal of Industrial Organization. His research and academic activities are centered around understanding complex market behaviors and regulatory issues within the broader scope of industrial organization.

Research topics

• Economics
• International economics
• International trade
• Industrial organization
• Econometrics
• Business
• Chemistry
• Bioinformatics
• Materials science
• Organic chemistry

Selected publications

• The impact of foreign direct investment on innovation: Evidence from patent filings and citations in China

  Journal of Comparative Economics · 2022 · 72 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Experience Goods and Consumer Search

  American Economic Journal Microeconomics · 2022-07-26 · 13 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  We introduce a search model where products differ in horizontal attributes and unobserved quality (“experience goods”), and firms can establish quality reputation. We show that the inability of consumers to observe quality before purchase significantly changes how search frictions affect market performance. In equilibrium, higher search costs reduce match values and increase price but can boost firms’ investment in product quality. Under plausible conditions, both consumer and total welfare init…

  PublisherDOI

• EFFICIENT LIABILITY IN EXPERT MARKETS

  International Economic Review · 2022-06-29 · 12 citations

  articleOpen access1st author

  Abstract When providing professional services, an expert may misbehave by either prescribing “wrong” treatment for consumer's problem or failing to exert proper effort to diagnose it. We show that under a range of liabilities the expert will recommend the appropriate treatment based on his private information if markups for alternative treatments are close enough; however, a well‐designed liability rule is essential for also motivating efficient diagnosis effort. We further demonstrate that unfe…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Assigning Default Position for Digital Goods: Competition, Regulation, and Welfare

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2023-01-01 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Search and Competition Under Product Quality Uncertainty*

  Journal of Industrial Economics · 2023-11-15 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract I review models of consumer search and competition when product quality is uncertain and differs across firms. Although firms are vertically—and possibly also horizontally—differentiated, an appropriate symmetric price equilibrium with optimal consumer search can be neatly characterized. I propose a “random‐quality” framework that unifies these models and discuss their insights on the operation of consumer search markets, focusing on (i) online advertising and search through platforms,…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Xinyu Hua

  23 shared

• Keith E. Maskus

  16 shared

• Tianle Zhang

  16 shared

• Qifu Li

  Hainan Medical University

  15 shared

• Michael Riordan

  Columbia University

  12 shared

• Marius Schwartz

  Georgetown University

  12 shared

• Robert W. Rosenthal

  Bay State College

  9 shared

• Chengran Fang

  Zhejiang University of Technology

  7 shared

Education

• Ph.D.

  Boston University

  1992

• M.A.

  Renmin University of China

• B.S.

  Zhejiang Institute of Technology, China

Similar researchers at University of Colorado Boulder

• Wolfgang Kellerh-53
• Miles Spencer Kimballh-45
• Murat Iyigunh-29