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Price and capacity competition

Author Info

  • Acemoglu, Daron
  • Bimpikis, Kostas
  • Ozdaglar, Asuman

Abstract

We study the efficiency of oligopoly equilibria in a model where firms compete over capacities and prices. Our model economy corresponds to a two-stage game. First, firms choose their capacity levels. Second, after the capacity levels are observed, they set prices. Given the capacities and prices, consumers allocate their demands across the firms. We establish the existence of pure strategy oligopoly equilibria and characterize the set of equilibria. We then investigate the efficiency properties of these equilibria, where "efficiency" is defined as the ratio of surplus in equilibrium relative to the first best. We show that efficiency in the worst oligopoly equilibria can be arbitrarily low. However, if the best oligopoly equilibrium is selected (among multiple equilibria), the worst-case efficiency loss is with N firms, and this bound is tight. We also suggest a simple way of implementing the best oligopoly equilibrium.

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Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Games and Economic Behavior.

Volume (Year): 66 (2009)
Issue (Month): 1 (May)
Pages: 1-26

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Handle: RePEc:eee:gamebe:v:66:y:2009:i:1:p:1-26
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622836

Keywords: Capacity Competition Efficiency loss Industry structure Investment oligopoly;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
  • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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  1. Martin J Osborne & Ariel Rubinstein, 2009. "A Course in Game Theory," Levine's Bibliography 814577000000000225, UCLA Department of Economics.
  2. Partha Dasgupta & Eric Maskin, 1986. "The Existence of Equilibrium in Discontinuous Economic Games, I: Theory," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 53(1), pages 1-26.
  3. Drew Fudenberg & Jean Tirole, 1991. "Game Theory," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262061414, December.
  4. Daron Acemoglu & Asuman Ozdaglar, 2005. "Competition and Efficiency in Congested Markets," NBER Working Papers 11201, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  5. David M. Kreps & Jose A. Scheinkman, 1983. "Quantity Precommitment and Bertrand Competition Yield Cournot Outcomes," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 14(2), pages 326-337, Autumn.
  6. Natalia Fabra & Nils‐Henrik Fehr & David Harbord, 2006. "Designing electricity auctions," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(1), pages 23-46, 03.
  7. Richard E. Levitan & Martin Shubik, 1970. "Duopoly with Price and Quantity as Strategic Variables," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 289, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
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Cited by:

  1. Nasri, Mostafa & Bastin, Fabian & Marcotte, Patrice, 2015. "Quantifying the social welfare loss in moral hazard models," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 245(1), pages 226-235.
  2. Felipe Balmaceda & Santiago Balseiro & Jose Correa & Nicolas Stier-Moses, 2014. "Bounds on the Welfare Loss of Moral Hazard with Limited Liability," Working Papers 55, Facultad de Economía y Empresa, Universidad Diego Portales.
  3. Balmaceda, Felipe & Balseiro, Santiago R. & Correa, José R. & Stier-Moses, Nicolás E., 2016. "Bounds on the welfare loss from moral hazard with limited liability," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 137-155.
  4. van den Berg, Vincent A.C. & Verhoef, Erik T., 2012. "Is the travel time of private roads too short, too long, or just right?," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 971-983.
  5. van den Berg, Vincent A.C., 2013. "Serial private infrastructures," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 186-202.
  6. de Frutos, María-Ángeles & Fabra, Natalia, 2011. "Endogenous capacities and price competition: The role of demand uncertainty," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 399-411, July.
  7. Christiaan Behrens & Mark Lijesen, 2012. "Capacity Choice under Uncertainty with Product Differentiation," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 12-113/VIII, Tinbergen Institute, revised 20 Feb 2014.
  8. Liu, Tian-Liang & Chen, Jian & Huang, Hai-Jun, 2011. "Existence and efficiency of oligopoly equilibrium under toll and capacity competition," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 908-919.
  9. Robert Somogyi, 2013. "Bertrand-Edgeworth competition with substantial product differentiation," IEHAS Discussion Papers 1332, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
  10. van den Berg, Vincent A.C., 2012. "Auctions for private congestible infrastructures," MPRA Paper 40103, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  11. José R. Correa & Nicolás Figueroa & Nicolás E. Stier-Moses, 2008. "Pricing with markups in industries with increasing marginal costs," Documentos de Trabajo 256, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.

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