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Collusion, price dispersion, and fringe competition

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  • Roos, Nicolas de
  • Smirnov, Vladimir

Abstract

We study the optimal behaviour of a cartel faced with fringe competition and imperfectly attentive consumers. Intertemporal price dispersion obfuscates consumer price comparison which aids the cartel through two channels: it reduces the effectiveness of free riding by the fringe; and it relaxes the cartel’s internal incentive constraints. Our theory explains the survival of a price-setting cartel in a homogeneous product market, provides a collusive rationale for sales and Edgeworth cycles, and characterises the cartel’s manipulation of its fringe rival through a double cut-off rule.

Suggested Citation

  • Roos, Nicolas de & Smirnov, Vladimir, 2021. "Collusion, price dispersion, and fringe competition," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:132:y:2021:i:c:s0014292120302701
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2020.103640
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    Cited by:

    1. Martin, Simon & Rasch, Alexander, 2024. "Demand forecasting, signal precision, and collusion with hidden actions," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Iwan Bos & Marco A. Marini, 2022. "Collusion in quality‐segmented markets," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 24(2), pages 293-323, April.
    3. Simon Loertscher & Leslie M. Marx, 2021. "Coordinated Effects in Merger Review," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(4), pages 705-744.
    4. Leonardo Madio & Aldo Pignataro, 2022. "Collusion sustainability with a capacity constrained firm," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0295, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    5. Bos, Iwan & Marini, Marco A. & Saulle, Riccardo D., 2024. "Myopic oligopoly pricing," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 377-412.
    6. Nicolas de Roos & Vladimir Smirnov, 2020. "Collusion with intertemporal price dispersion," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 51(1), pages 158-188, March.
    7. Leonardo Madio & Aldo Pignataro, 2022. "Collusion Sustainability with a Capacity Constrained Firm," CESifo Working Paper Series 10170, CESifo.
    8. Bruce Mountain & Kelly Burns, 2021. "Loyalty taxes in retail electricity markets: not as they seem?," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 1-24, February.
    9. Bovin, Andreas & Bos, Iwan, 2023. "Market Shares as Collusive Marker: Evidence from the European Truck Industry," Research Memorandum 011, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    10. Nicolas de Roos, 2018. "Collusion with limited product comparability," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 49(3), pages 481-503, September.
    11. Napel, Stefan & Welter, Dominik, 2023. "Umbrella pricing and cartel size," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    12. Wenzel, Tobias, 2024. "Collusion, inattentive consumers and shrouded prices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 579-591.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Collusion; Fringe competition; Obfuscation; Price dispersion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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