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The impact of consumer protection in the digital age: Evidence from the European Union |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Economics, Università Bocconi, Italy;2. CSEF, Italy;3. CEPR, UK;4. ICREA-Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, Spain;1. European University Institute and CEPR, Department of Economics, Via Fontanelle 18, 50014, Fiesole, Italy;2. University of Bologna and CEPR, Department of Economics, Piazza Scaravilli 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy;1. Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), Research Institute for Regulatory Economics, Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020 Vienna, Austria;2. School of Business, Economics & Information Systems, University of Passau, 94032 Passau, Germany;3. ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, L 7, 1, 68161 Mannheim, Germany;4. Department of Economics and Research Institute for Regulatory Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020 Vienna, Austria |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effect of an EU-wide consumer protection regulation on consumer trust as well as consumer behavior. The Unfair Commercial Practice Directive (UCPD) was implemented by EU member states between 2007 and 2010. We utilize data from the Special and Flash Eurobarometer for the years between 2006 and 2014 and experts’ evaluation on consumer protection levels before the introduction of the regulation. This rich data set allows us to apply a difference-in-difference estimator with multiple time periods. We find a significant relationship between the introduction of the UCPD and consumer trust and cross-border purchases for countries with a low consumer protection level before the introduction of the UCPD. The relationship increases over time and stays then relatively constant. |
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