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Directed Search and Optimal Production

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  • Athanasios Geromichalos

    (Department of Economics, University of California Davis)

Abstract

I consider a model of directed search in which strategic sellers advertise general trading mechanisms. A mechanism determines the number of buyers that will get served and the side payments as a function of ex post realized demand. After observing these advertisements buyers simultaneously visit exactly one seller. Each buyer?s expected utility depends on the visiting decisions of other buyers. This dependence becomes especially interesting since the buyers cannot coordinate their visiting strategies. Despite the presence of strategic interaction among the sellers all symmetric equilibria are constrained efficient but not payoff equivalent. Therefore, authorities should intervene in this type of market to redistribute surplus and not to improve efficiency. As markets grow infinitely large all equilibria yield the same profit. For the large market case I provide conditions under which only a very simple class of mechanisms is posted in equilibrium.

Suggested Citation

  • Athanasios Geromichalos, 2010. "Directed Search and Optimal Production," Working Papers 140, University of California, Davis, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:cda:wpaper:140
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pedro Gomis‐Porqueras & Benoit Julien & Chengsi Wang, 2017. "Strategic Advertising And Directed Search," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 58(3), pages 783-806, August.
    2. Manolis Galenianos & Philipp Kircher, 2012. "On The Game‐Theoretic Foundations Of Competitive Search Equilibrium," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 53(1), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Leo Kaas & Philipp Kircher, 2015. "Efficient Firm Dynamics in a Frictional Labor Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(10), pages 3030-3060, October.
    4. Gomis-Porqueras Pedro & Julien Benoît & Wang Liang, 2018. "Competitive Search with Ex-post Opportunism," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 1-17, January.
    5. Cai, Xiaoming & Gautier, Pieter A. & Wolthoff, Ronald P., 2017. "Search frictions, competing mechanisms and optimal market segmentation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 453-473.
    6. Athanasios Geromichalos, 2015. "Unemployment Insurance and Optimal Taxation in a Search Model of the Labor Market," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 18(2), pages 365-380, April.
    7. Nicolas L. Jacquet & John Kennes & Serene Tan, 2019. "Wagevacancy contracts and multiplicity of equilibria in a directed search model of the labour market," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 52(2), pages 784-821, May.
    8. Julien, Benoit & Kennes, John & Ritter, Moritz, 2018. "Bidding for teams," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 68-73.
    9. Tan, Serene, 2022. "Income inequality and endogenous market structure under directed search," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    10. Kircher, Philipp & Wright, Randall & Julien, Benoit & Guerrieri, Veronica, 2017. "Directed Search: A Guided Tour," CEPR Discussion Papers 12315, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Virág, Gábor, 2011. "High profit equilibria in directed search models," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 224-234, January.
    12. Athanasios Geromichalos, 2014. "Directed Search And The Bertrand Paradox," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1043-1065, November.
    13. Mats Godenhielm & Klaus Kultti, 2014. "Capacity Choice in a Large Market," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(8), pages 1-7, August.
    14. Godenhielm Mats & Kultti Klaus, 2015. "Directed Search with Endogenous Capacity," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 15(2), pages 211-249, July.
    15. Seungjin Han, 2015. "Competing Mechanisms: Theory and Applications in Directed Search Markets," Department of Economics Working Papers 2015-07, McMaster University, revised May 2016.
    16. Kircher, Philipp & Kim, Kyungmin, 2013. "Efficient Competition through Cheap Talk: Competing Auctions and Competitive Search without Ex Ante Price Commitment," CEPR Discussion Papers 9785, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. William B. Hawkins, 2013. "Competitive Search, Efficiency, And Multiworker Firms," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 54(1), pages 219-251, February.
    18. Peter Norman, 2017. "Matching with Frictions and Entry with Poisson Distributed Buyers and Sellers," 2017 Meeting Papers 1150, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    19. Xiaoming Cai & Pieter Gautier & Ronald Wolthoff, 2015. "Inclusive versus Exclusive Markets: Search Frictions and Competing Mechanisms," Working Papers tecipa-545, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    directed search; efficiency; multiplicity of equilibrium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C78 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Bargaining Theory; Matching Theory
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers

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