The SIM Section invites you to a SIM research seminar where Madhulika Kaul (Bayes Business School, UK) will give the following presentation:

Platforms as regulatory conduits: Evidence from Airbnb

Authors: Madhulika Kaul (Bayes Business School) and Joost Rietveld (UCL School of Management)

Abstract 
Platforms increasingly face regulatory interventions that target either the platform itself or its complementors. Yet, the impact of such interventions depends not only on the regulation but also on whether and how platforms choose to enforce them. Using a difference-in-difference design that examines Airbnb’s enforcement of France’s ELAN law in Paris, we show that the platform’s stricter enforcement through governance changes led to increased market concentration in the arrondissements (neighborhoods) where Airbnb implemented the regulation. Mid-sized hosts experienced a decline in market share compared to both single-property hosts and large professional property management firms, the latter of which expanded their portfolios following the intervention. This paper advances our understanding of platform governance and competition by illustrating how platforms serve as conduits for regulation and how their enforcement decisions shape competition in complementor markets.

Everyone is welcome!