Books
22 essential reads for tech economists.
Platform Economics
The foundational text on network economics - Varian became Google's Chief Economist
Rigorous platform economics by two top IO economists
Most comprehensive platform strategy book
Contrarian take - when network effects don't matter
Early platform economics - software as two-sided markets
AI & Machine Learning
Best economic framework for AI as cheap prediction
AI's system-level disruption - sequel to Prediction Machines
Algorithmic bias and fairness - ML economics
AI alignment with human values - relevant to responsible AI
Advertising & Attention
History and economics of attention and advertising
Programmatic advertising as a bubble: inflated metrics, click fraud, and misrepresented value — parallels to the 2008 housing crisis
Personalization and recommendation economics
Pricing & Market Design
Market design from a Nobel laureate - auctions, matching markets
Pricing psychology and behavioral economics
Practitioner pricing strategy from the world's leading pricing consultant
Mechanism design ideas - auctions, Harberger taxes, quadratic voting
Competition & Antitrust
Data economics and behavioral surplus extraction
Concise antitrust primer for tech
Data-driven competition economics
Labor & Gig Economy
Algorithmic management and gig economy