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The Theory of Allocation and Its Implications for Marketing and Industrial Structure

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  • Dennis W. Carlton

Abstract

This paper identifies a cost of using the price system and from that develops a general theory of allocation. The theory explains why a buyer's stochastic purchasing behavior matters to a seller. This leads to a theory of optimal customer mix much akin to the theory of optimal portfolio composition. It is the job of a firm's marketing department to put together this optimal customer mix. A dynamic pattern of pricing related to Ramsey pricing emerges as the efficient pricing structure. Price no longer equals marginal cost and is no longer the sole mechanism used to allocate goods. It is optimal for long term relationships to emerge between buyers and sellers and for sellers to use their knowledge about buyers to ration goods during periods when demand is high. This rationing cam take the form of refusing to sell to new customers and putting established customers on quotas. The evidence shows that this form of rationing, though foreign to the thinking of most economists, characterizes several industries. The theory provides an important incentive for a firm to exist, namely to facilitate trade amongst its customers. The theory also provides a convincing explanation f or the hostility that new futures markets face from established firms in the industry and shows that several practices, like price differences amongst consumers and swapping product with rivals, can be the result of competition and not market power.

Suggested Citation

  • Dennis W. Carlton, 1991. "The Theory of Allocation and Its Implications for Marketing and Industrial Structure," NBER Working Papers 3786, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:3786
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    Cited by:

    1. Massimo A. De Francesco, 2004. "Pricing and matching under duopoly with imperfect buyer mobility," Department of Economics University of Siena 439, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    2. Woodford, Michael, 1996. "Loan commitments and optimal monetary policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 573-605, June.
    3. Avichai Snir & Daniel Levy, 2011. "Shrinking Goods and Sticky Prices: Theory and Evidence," Working Paper series 17_11, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    4. Levy, Daniel & Snir, Avichai, 2013. "Shrinking Goods," EconStor Preprints 104552, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    5. Taylor, Grant A. & Tsui, Kevin K. K. & Zhu, Lijing, 2003. "Lottery or waiting-line auction?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(5-6), pages 1313-1334, May.
    6. David, Laurent & Le Breton, Michel & Merillon, Olivier, 2007. "Regulating the Natural Gas Transportation Industry: Optimal Pricing Policy of a Monopolist with Advance-Purchase and Spot Markets," IDEI Working Papers 488, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    7. Skully, David W., 1999. "The Economics Of Trq Administration," Working Papers 14584, International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium.
    8. Bertin, Amy L & Bresnahan, Timothy F & Raff, Daniel M G, 1996. "Localized Competition and the Aggregation of Plant-Level Increasing Returns: Blast Furnaces, 1929-1935," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(2), pages 241-266, April.
    9. Dennis W. Carlton, 1998. "A Critical Assessment of the Role of Imperfect Competition in Macroeconomics," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Steven Brakman & Hans Ees & Simon K. Kuipers (ed.), Market Behaviour and Macroeconomic Modelling, chapter 3, pages 73-104, Palgrave Macmillan.
    10. de Meza, David & Reito, Francesco, 2020. "Too much waste, not enough rationing: The failure of stochastic, competitive markets," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    11. Evans, Mary F. & Vossler, Christian A. & Flores, Nicholas E., 2009. "Hybrid allocation mechanisms for publicly provided goods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1-2), pages 311-325, February.
    12. Benning, Tim M. & Dellaert, Benedict G.C., 2013. "Paying more for faster care? Individuals' attitude toward price-based priority access in health care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 119-128.
    13. de Meza, David & Reito, Francesco, 2016. "Too Much Waste: A Failure of Stochastic, Competitive Markets," MPRA Paper 76125, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Agostini, Claudio & Saavedra, Eduardo H., 2013. "Chile: Port congestion and efficient rationing in cargo transfer operations," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    15. Pinelopi K. Goldberg & Rebecca Hellerstein, 2009. "How rigid are producer prices?," Staff Reports 407, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    16. Daniel F. Spulber, 1996. "Market Microstructure and Intermediation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 135-152, Summer.
    17. Fan, Joseph P. H., 2000. "Price uncertainty and vertical integration: an examination of petrochemical firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 345-376, December.

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