We analyze the strategic use of the debt in a duopoly model of Cournot competition. We consider a two stage model where debt acts as a commitment variable and we characterize subgame perfect equilibria. We differ from several models based on the strategic value of the debt such as Wanzenried [Wanzenried G. (2003), "Capital Structure Decisions and Output Market Competition Under Demand Uncertainty", International Journal of Industrial Organization 21, 171-200.] in showing that, if one assumes that the debt level acts as a commitment device, it is incorrect to consider bankruptcy risk as a strategic variable. We demonstrate properties concerning the influence of price volatility and product differentiation upon equilibrium values of production, default risk and debt obligation.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Volume (Year): 26 (2008) Issue (Month): 2 (March) Pages: 607-615 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
(with abstract),
plain text
(with abstract),
BibTeX,
RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite),
ReDIF