The New Economics of Multi-Sided Platforms: A Guide to the Vocabulary

The new economics of multi-sided platforms involves a number of concepts that are familiar to economists as well as some new ones. This glossary, which is drawn from our book Matchmakers: The New Economics of Multi-sided Platforms, is an attempt to put together the main concepts and to provide short definitions for them. We believe this common vocabulary, which we're sure others will refine and evolve, will be helpful for research and the exchange of ideas going forward and may serve as a quick primer for those who are new to the field, including students.