Zhuoxin Li
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Social Science·Early-career
Food delivery apps have become a major source of revenue for restaurants, but the relationship is uneasy. Delivery platforms take orders through a mobile app and send drivers to bring food to customers.
- Fields
Social Science
- Topics
on-demand delivery platforms
food delivery apps
digital platforms
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Measure whether restaurants benefit from on-demand delivery platforms such as app-based food delivery, and which types of restaurants, independent or chain, are more likely to gain.
- Evaluate whether commission caps that more than a dozen cities and states have placed on delivery platform fees are effective, and identify their promises and pitfalls.
- Design optimal regulatory policies for delivery platforms that improve total social welfare, balancing restaurant revenue, consumer surplus and the sustainability of on-demand delivery.
More about the research
They also hold strong power over independent restaurants and can charge fees as high as 30%, capturing most of the value created on the platform. Cities and states are debating whether and how to regulate these platforms, but few empirical studies exist to guide them.
Why it matters
City and state officials debating delivery-fee caps currently have little evidence to go on. This research could give them empirical evidence on whether commission caps help restaurants, along with policy designs that balance restaurant revenue, consumer benefit and platform sustainability. Independent restaurant owners could also learn when delivery platforms are likely to pay off for businesses like theirs.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
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The school
University of Wisconsin-Madison: 91 labs on PI Pages, $1.9B a year on research, 854 research doctorates a year.
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