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Complementary Monopolies with Asymmetric Information

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Abstract

We investigate how asymmetric information on final demand affects strategic interaction between a downstream monopolist and a set of up-stream monopolists, who independently produce complementary inputs. We study an intrinsic private common agency game in which each supplier i independently proposes a pricing schedule contract to the assembler, specifying the supplier's payment as a function of the assembler's purchase of input i. We provide a necessary and sufficient equilibrium condition. A lot of equilibria satisfy this condition but there is a unique Pareto-undominated Nash equilibrium from the suppliers' point of view. In this equilibrium there are unavoidable efficiency losses due to excessively low sales of the good. However, suppliers may be able to limit these distortions by implicitly coordinating on an equilibrium with a rigid (positive) output in bad demand circumstances.

Suggested Citation

  • Didier Laussel & Joana Resende, 2018. "Complementary Monopolies with Asymmetric Information," AMSE Working Papers 1842, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    • Handle: RePEc:aim:wpaimx:1842
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Didier Laussel & Joana Resende, 2020. "Complementary Monopolies with asymmetric information," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 70(4), pages 943-981, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Didier Laussel & Joana Resende, 2020. "Complementary Monopolies with asymmetric information," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 70(4), pages 943-981, November.
    2. David Martimort & Aggey Semenov & Lars Stole, 2016. "A Complete Characterization of Equilibria in Common Agency Screening Games," Working Papers 1618E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    3. Didier Laussel & Ngo Van Long, 2020. "Tying the politicians’ hands: The optimal limits to representative democracy," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(1), pages 25-48, February.
    4. Yen-Ju Lin & Yan-Shu Lin & Pei-Cyuan Shih, 2022. "Welfare reducing vertical licensing in the presence of complementary inputs," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 137(2), pages 121-143, October.
    5. Rabah Amir, 2020. "Special Issue: Supermodularity and Monotonicity in Economics," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 70(4), pages 907-911, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    complementary inputs; asymmetric information; private common agency games;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure

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