Excellence in Research: The impact of online comparison websites on the remittance industry

这一拟议的研究项目将使用实验方法和调查，调查网上比较购物对选择公司的影响，以及对向本国汇款的移徙者收取的费用。 尽管移民汇款是流向发展中国家的重要资金来源，因此也是经济增长和全球发展的主要来源，但汇款成本往往很高，平均约占汇款额的8%。 据推测，网上比较购物将允许消费者选择提供更好的服务和更低的成本的公司，因此，这些服务的价格可能会下降。 虽然这是一种可能性，但这一问题的经验证据有限，主要是因为缺乏数据。 本研究将结合联合收割机经济理论、结构模型、实地实验和调查数据来探讨这些问题。 PI将调查来自不同国家的400名使用这些在线比较购物网站的移民，以确定在线比较购物对公司选择的影响以及这些比较对汇款成本的影响。 这项研究的结果将对移民汇款的费用产生重要影响，可能会增加市场参与者的数量和数量，并对全球发展作出重大贡献。 调查结果还将确立美国作为移民转移市场的全球领导者的地位。 这一拟议的研究项目将使用各种方法，研究移徙者在网上比较汇款服务对移徙者选择公司和这种服务费用的因果影响。 本研究将结合（1）理论、（2）现场实验、（3）调查数据、（4）结构模型、（5）政策评估，首次尝试对比价网站对产业供需双方的因果影响进行严格评估。 PI试图将信息和通信技术对消费者行为影响的研究扩展到一个未开发的市场-汇款行业。 通过在多个时间点对400名移民进行抽样调查，并对他们进行随机信息处理，PI将确定“价格比较”对移民选择的因果影响。 然后，PI将使用结构模型进行反事实政策评估，以评估这些在线比较购物实验的潜在供应方影响以及福利效应。 这项研究的结果将为围绕如何降低移民汇款行业成本的政策辩论提供信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This proposed research project will use experimental methods and surveys to investigate the effects of on-line comparison shopping on choice of companies and fees charged for migrants sending money to their home countries. Even though migrant remittances serve as an important source of financial flows to the developing world, hence a major source of economic growth and global development, the cost of remittances tend to be very high averaging about 8% of the amount transmitted. It is hypothesized that on-line comparison shopping will allow consumers to choose companies that provide lower cost with better services and as a result, prices for these services are likely to fall. While this is a possibility, there is limited empirical evidence of this issue mainly because of lack of data. The proposed research will combine economic theory, structural modelling, field experiments, and survey data to investigate these issues. The PIs will survey 400 migrants from different countries who use these on-line comparison shopping websites to determine what impacts on-line comparison shopping have on choice of company and the impact of these comparisons on the cost of sending money. The results of this research will have important impacts on the cost of sending migrant remittances, possibly increase the volume and the number of market participants, as well as significantly contribute to global development. The results will also establish the US as the global leader in migrants' transfer markets. This proposed research project will use a variety of methods to study the causal impacts of on-line comparison shopping for migrant remittance services on the choice of companies by migrants and the cost of such services. This study will be one of the first to attempt a rigorous assessment of the causal impact of comparison websites on both the demand and supply sides of the industry by combining (1) theory, (2) field experiments, (3) survey data, (4) structural modeling, and (5) policy evaluations. The PIs seek to extend research on the impacts of information and communication technologies on consumer behavior to an unexplored market---the remittance industry. By surveying a sample of 400 migrants at multiple points in time and exposing them to randomized information treatments, the PIs will identify the causal impact of "price comparison" on migrant choices. The PIs will then use a structural model to conduct counterfactual policy evaluations to assess the potential supply-side impacts as well as welfare effects of these on-line comparison shopping experiments. The findings of this research will inform the policy debate surrounding ways to reduce cost in the migrant remittance industry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.