Saattvic Saattvic
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
I have worked as an economic consultant focusing on antitrust issues since 2009, which has exposed me to the inner workings of a variety of industries. As a consultant, my work was directed by my clients' needs, and there was not much opportunity to independently pursue questions I found inherently interesting. Pursuing a graduate degree will not only give me cutting edge tools, but will allow me to pursue questions of my choosing.
Why did you decide to study at UBC?
UBC ticked a lot of my boxes. The university itself, and my program, are both very highly ranked internationally. The faculty includes several established and young researchers with interests closely connected to mine. The financial support (even absent the SSHRC scholarship) is generous. The campus itself is pretty, and Vancouver is one of the most livable cities in the world.
What is it specifically, that your program offers, that attracted you?
A very low student-faculty ratio allows me to get more time from individual faculty members than would be possible in a traditional Economics program. Also, working in a business school allows me to interact with researchers in closely related fields like information systems. Lastly, my department has some extremely celebrated researchers in my areas.
What was the best surprise about UBC or life in Vancouver?
The best surprise about Vancouver is being able to hike in snow-clad mountains and relax on a sunny beach - on the same day!
What aspects of your life or career before now have best prepared you for your UBC graduate program?
I would say my work as an antitrust economist, and a good masters degree helped me prepare for my graduate program.
What advice do you have for new graduate students?
Make lots of new friends, especially with people from other departments. Make sure to look outside your department and enjoy the variety of intellectual stimulation the University has to offer.
Learn more about Saattvic's research
Experience goods are those which consumers can only evaluate after consumption, like cultural goods and restaurants; and credence goods are those which consumers cannot accurately evaluate even after consumption, like expert services and news. Such industries develop systems to help consumers evaluate goods before purchase, including expert recommendations, user reviews, and producer signaling through brand-building. In industries where such goods reach consumers through distributors (e.g. motion pictures through cinemas and news through newspapers), digital distribution platforms’ entry has introduced new evaluation systems, including recommendation algorithms and recommendations from online networks (e.g. Netflix for movies and Facebook for news). Such disruptions can change what consumers buy, with potentially far-reaching consequences for industry dynamics, and whether they need to be regulated. In the news industry, disinformation is a global concern. My proposed research would attempt to document whether digital distribution platforms are more conducive to spreading disinformation than traditional platforms like newspapers and television; whether anti-disinformation laws have been effective at controlling disinformation; what strategies traditional and new-age digital media outlets have followed in response to anti-disinformation laws; and whether other forms of government or industry self regulation might lead to better outcomes. The video-entertainment industry has seen a spate of recent vertical integration – digital distribution platforms like Netflix and Amazon Video have become major content producers, while traditional studios like the Walt Disney Company and Warner Media have launched their own digital platforms like Hulu, Disney+ and HBO Max. My research would examine whether new digital producers' overwhelming command over popular digital distribution platforms has led to systematically different choices regarding content; whether content producers choose different content for digital distribution in general; and what long run strategies both traditional and digital producers may be expected to follow.