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Transparency, Prices and Welfare with Imperfect Substitutes

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  • Boone, Jan
  • Potters, Jan

Abstract

Markets that are not completely transparent feature complex comparative statics with respect to the effect of number of firms, elasticity of substitution between goods and degree of transparency on equilibrium prices. The main result is that the following 'common wisdom' is incorrect: more transparent markets always feature lower prices, higher consumer welfare and lower price dispersion.

Suggested Citation

  • Boone, Jan & Potters, Jan, 2002. "Transparency, Prices and Welfare with Imperfect Substitutes," CEPR Discussion Papers 3256, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:3256
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Karen Clay & Ramayya Krishnan & Eric Wolff, 2001. "Prices and Price Dispersion on the Web: Evidence from the Online Book Industry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(4), pages 521-539, December.
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    5. Oecd, 1998. "Electronic Commerce: Prices and Consumer Issues for Three Products: Books, Compact Discs and Software," OECD Digital Economy Papers 32, OECD Publishing.
    6. Stahl, Dale O, II, 1989. "Oligopolistic Pricing with Sequential Consumer Search," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(4), pages 700-712, September.
    7. Johan Stennek, 1997. "Coordination in Oligopoly," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(4), pages 541-554, December.
    8. Karen Clay & Ramayya Krishnan & Eric Wolff, 2001. "Prices and Price Dispersion on the Web: Evidence from the Online Book Industry," NBER Chapters, in: E-commerce, pages 521-539, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Schultz, Christian, 2004. "Market transparency and product differentiation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 173-178, May.
    2. KNAUFF, Malgorzata, 2006. "Market transparency and Bertrand competition," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2006037, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    3. Elisa Baraibar‐Diez & María D. Odriozola & José Luis Fernández Sánchez, 2017. "A Survey of Transparency: An Intrinsic Aspect of Business Strategy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 480-489, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    transparency; Substitution; Prices;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General

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