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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhang, Yukun, Dong, Qi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.13090
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Table of Contents:
  • We develop a comprehensive theoretical framework to analyze live streaming platforms as two-sided markets, focusing on the head effect where a small subset of elite streamers disproportionately attracts viewer attention. By constructing both static and dynamic models, we capture the interplay between network effects, content quality investments, and platform policies-such as commission structures and traffic allocation algorithms-that drive traffic concentration. Our welfare analysis demonstrates that although short-term consumer utility may benefit from concentrated viewership, long-term content diversity and overall social welfare are adversely impacted. Extensive simulations further validate our models and show that targeted policy interventions can rebalance viewer distribution and mitigate winner-takes-all dynamics. These findings offer actionable insights for platform designers and regulators in the digital economy.