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Price Dispersion and Consumer Reservation Prices

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Author Info
Anderson, Simon P
de Palma, André

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Abstract

We describe firm pricing when consumers follow simple reservation price rules. In stark contrast to other models in the literature, this approach yields price dispersion in pure strategies even when firms have the same marginal costs. At the equilibrium, lower price firms earn higher profits. The range of price dispersion increases with the number of firms: the highest price is the monopoly one, while the lowest price tends to marginal cost. The average transaction price remains substantially above marginal cost even with many firms. The equilibrium pricing pattern is the same when prices are chosen sequentially.

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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 4618.

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Date of creation: Sep 2004
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:4618

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Related research
Keywords: passive search; price dispersion; reservation price rule;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search, Learning, and Information

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  1. Alfredo Martín-Oliver & Vicente Salas-Fumás & Jesús Saurina, 2008. "Search cost and price dispersion in vertically related markets: the case of bank loans and deposits," Banco de España Working Papers 0825, Banco de España. [Downloadable!]
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