This paper offers a general characterization of the optimal product line prices for a monopolist whose quality of products is initially unknown to consumers. In the focal equilibrium, a monopolist signals a high-quality product line by pricing as if quality were known to be high, but costs of production were higher than they truly are. In a rich set of environments, this characterization implies that the prices of all products are initially distorted upward, with the price distortion being largest for products with the most inelastic demands and/or quality-sensitive production costs. These implications yield predictions for the time path of prices that are broadly consistent with evidence from the marketing literature. The multidimensional signaling problem is made tractable by the satisfaction of a very simple and powerful single crossing property. Copyright 1992 by MIT Press.
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Kyle Bagwell & Garey Ramey, 1987.
"Advertising and Limit Pricing,"
Discussion Papers
729, Northwestern University, Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science.
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Kreps, David M & Wilson, Robert, 1982.
"Sequential Equilibria,"
Econometrica,
Econometric Society, vol. 50(4), pages 863-94, July.
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Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)
Andrew F. Daughety & Jennifer F. Reinganum, 2003.
"Secrecy and Safety,"
Working Papers
0317, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University, revised Sep 2003.
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Andrew F. Daughety & Jennifer F. Reinganum, 2005.
"Secrecy and Safety,"
American Economic Review,
American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1074-1091, September.
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