Dissertation
Applied Microeconomic and Statistical Methods Using Social Media Data
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005101
Abstract
Policy makers have the challenge of deciding which products can enter the market, and this challenge becomes even more difficult with the absence of consumption data. Surveys can be administered to understand consumer preferences for products in development, but implementing these methods can be costly. New methods need to be used to estimate, predict and explain consumer preferences towards new products, and to help policy makers make more informed decisions about the products they allow into the market.
One avenue being explored is using data from the media, in particular social me- dia, to understand consumer preferences. Social media usage rates have increased dramatically since the early 2000s, and consumers are constantly expressing their opinions about products online. They are being influenced through social interactions, and by the media in general. In this dissertation, I use economic, statistical and data science methods to estimate, predict and explain consumer preferences, and their social interactions, using different social media datasets. I apply these meth- ods to a population that is engaged with the topic of “genome editing in domestic livestock” (GEDL). I also develop a theoretical microeconomic framework to analyze how signals from the media, focusing on the functional form of these signals, affects a firm’s investment decision into corporate social responsibility (CSR) (i.e., greener technologies).
The main results are that the overall preference for GEDL is mixed. I find that the overall consensus about GEDL is negative, and that anti-GEDL users own 69% of the social influence in any GEDL conversation. I also find as signal richness increases about a firm’s CSR practices, the incentive to invest in CSR increases and then decreases. Policy makers can use these results to 1) understand that the consumer preferences towards GEDL on social media is mixed, 2) anti-GEDL users own 69% of the social influence on social media, explaining why the overall consensus on GEDL has predominantly been negative, and 3) to evaluate how multiple signaling affects firm incentive to invest in CSR, and how to regulate information markets to increase CSR investment.
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Details
- Title
- Applied Microeconomic and Statistical Methods Using Social Media Data
- Creators
- Joseph Navelski
- Contributors
- Jill McCluskey (Advisor)Felix Munoz-Garcia (Advisor)Ron Mittelhammer (Committee Member)Syed Badruddoza (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Economic Sciences, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 153
- Identifiers
- 99901019836301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation