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Monopolistic group design with peer effects

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Author Info
Board, Simon () (Department of Economics, University of California Los Angeles)

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Abstract

In a range of settings, private firms manage peer effects by sorting agents into different groups, be they schools, communities, or product categories. This paper considers such a firm, which controls group entry by setting a series of anonymous prices. We show that private provision systematically leads to two distortions relative to the efficient solution: first, agents are segregated too finely; second, too many agents are excluded from all groups. We demonstrate that these distortions are a consequence of anonymous pricing and do not depend upon the nature of the peer effects. This general approach also allows us to assess the way the `returns to scale' of peer technology and the cost of group formation affect the optimal group structure.

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File URL: http://econtheory.org/ojs/index.php/te/article/view/20090089/125
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Society for Economic Theory in its journal Theoretical Economics.

Volume (Year): 4 (2009)
Issue (Month): 1 (March)
Pages: 89-125
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:the:publsh:413

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Web page: http://econtheory.org

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Related research
Keywords: Mechanism design; peer effects; public goods; network effects;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information
H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
L12 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies

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    Other versions:
  6. Bruce Sacerdote, 2001. "Peer Effects With Random Assignment: Results For Dartmouth Roommates," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 116(2), pages 681-704, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Armin Falk & Andrea Ichino, 2004. "Clean Evidence on Peer Effects," Levine's Bibliography 666156000000000439, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Alexandre Mas & Enrico Moretti, 2006. "Peers at Work," IZA Discussion Papers 2292, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  9. Damiano, Ettore & Li, Hao, 2005. "Competing Matchmaking," Micro Theory Working Papers damiano-05-01-25-10-08-07, Microeconomics.ca Website, revised 18 Oct 2005. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Thomas J. Nechyba, 2000. "Mobility, Targeting, and Private-School Vouchers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(1), pages 130-146, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Arnott, Richard & Rowse, John, 1987. "Peer group effects and educational attainment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 287-305, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Henderson, Vernon & Mieszkowski, Peter & Sauvageau, Yvon, 1978. "Peer group effects and educational production functions," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 97-106, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Jacob M. Markman & Eric A. Hanushek & John F. Kain & Steven G. Rivkin, 2003. "Does peer ability affect student achievement?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(5), pages 527-544. [Downloadable!]
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  16. Epple, Dennis & Romano, Richard E, 1998. "Competition between Private and Public Schools, Vouchers, and Peer-Group Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(1), pages 33-62, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Nicola Persico, 2000. "Information Acquisition in Auctions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 68(1), pages 135-148, January.
    Other versions:
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This page was last updated on 2009-10-27.

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