We examine the impact of removing Digital Rights Management (DRM) from electronic book devices. We derive a Bayesian hierarchical logit model based on the consumer’s utility maximization problem and estimate the model using data from a choice-based survey. We then simulate the counterfactual market outcomes when DRM is removed; on average, the consumer surplus increases nontrivially holding everything else constant. However, the gain in consumer surplus is diminished when we re-calibrate e-book device prices. Further, if there is a negative shock to content supply, then the consumer surplus could in fact decrease after DRM removal.

我们研究了从电子书设备中删除数字版权管理 (DRM) 的影响。我们根据消费者的效用最大化问题推导出贝叶斯分层 logit 模型，并使用基于选择的调查中的数据估计模型。然后，当 DRM 被移除时，我们模拟反事实的市场结果；平均而言，消费者剩余在保持其他一切不变的情况下增加。然而，当我们重新校准电子书设备价格时，消费者剩余的收益会减少。此外，如果内容供应受到负面冲击，那么在 DRM 删除后消费者剩余实际上可能会减少。