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Information, Market Power and Price Volatility

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  • Bergemann, Dirk
  • Morris, Stephen
  • Heumann, Tibor

Abstract

We consider demand function competition with a finite number of agents and private information. We show that any degree of market power can arise in the unique equilibrium under an information structure that is arbitrarily close to complete information. Regardless of the number of agents and the correlation of payo¤ shocks, market power may be arbitrarily close to zero (the competitive outcome) or arbitrarily large (so there is no trade). By contrast, price volatility is always lower than the variance of the aggregate shock across all information structures. Alternative trading mechanisms lead to very distinct bounds as a comparison with Cournot competition establishes.

Suggested Citation

  • Bergemann, Dirk & Morris, Stephen & Heumann, Tibor, 2020. "Information, Market Power and Price Volatility," CEPR Discussion Papers 15104, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:15104
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jason Allen & Milena Wittwer, 2023. "Intermediary Market Power and Capital Constraints," Staff Working Papers 23-51, Bank of Canada.
    2. Lou, Youcheng & Rahi, Rohit, 2021. "Information, market power and welfare," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118843, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Rahi, Rohit, 2021. "Information acquisition with heterogeneous valuations," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    4. Lou, Youcheng & Rahi, Rohit, 2023. "Information, market power and welfare," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 120479, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Demand function competition; Supply function competition; Price impact; market power; Incomplete information; Price volatility; Cournot competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • D44 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Auctions
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates

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