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Price competition under universal service obligations

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  • Axel Gautier
  • Xavier Wauthy

Abstract

In industries like telecom, postal services or energy provision, universal service obligations (uniform price and universal coverage) are often imposed on one market participant. Universal service obligations are likely to alter firms' strategic behavior in such competitive markets. In the present paper, we show that, depending on the entrant's market coverage and the degree of product differentiation, the Nash equilibrium in prices involves either pure or mixed strategies. We show that the pure strategy market sharing equilibrium, as identified by Valletti, Hoernig, and Barros (2002), defines a lower bound on the level of equilibrium prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Axel Gautier & Xavier Wauthy, 2010. "Price competition under universal service obligations," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 6(3), pages 311-326, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijethy:v:6:y:2010:i:3:p:311-326
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-7363.2010.00137.x
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    1. Mirabel, F. & Poudou, J.-C. & Roland, M., 2009. "Universal service obligations: The role of subsidization schemes," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 1-9, February.
    2. Krishna, Kala, 1989. "Trade restrictions as facilitating practices," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3-4), pages 251-270, May.
    3. Armstrong Mark, 2008. "Access Pricing, Bypass and Universal Service in Post," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(2), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Steffen Hoernig, 2006. "Should uniform pricing constraints be imposed on entrants?," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 199-216, August.
    5. Valletti, Tommaso M & Hoernig, Steffen & Barros, Pedro P, 2002. "Universal Service and Entry: The Role of Uniform Pricing and Coverage Constraints," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 169-190, March.
    6. Panzar, John C., 2000. "A methodology for measuring the costs of universal service obligations," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 211-220, September.
    7. Anton, James J. & Vander Weide, James H. & Vettas, Nikolaos, 2002. "Entry auctions and strategic behavior under cross-market price constraints," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 611-629, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gautier, Axel & Wauthy, Xavier, 2012. "Competitively neutral universal service obligations," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 254-261.
    2. Axel Gautier & Jean-Christophe Poudou & Michel Roland, 2024. "Net Neutrality and Universal Service Obligations: It’s All About Bandwidth," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 64(4), pages 581-614, June.
    3. Bourreau, Marc & Jullien, Bruno, 2018. "Mergers, investments and demand expansion," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 136-141.
    4. Gautier Axel & Paolini Dimitri, 2011. "Universal Service Financing in Competitive Postal Markets: One Size Does Not Fit All," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 10(3), pages 1-30, September.
    5. Shanker A. Singham & U. Srinivasa Rangan, 2018. "Anti‐Competitive Market Distortions: A Typology," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 339-347, October.
    6. Paul Belleflamme & Wing Man Wynne Lam, & Wouter Vergote, 2020. "Competitive Imperfect Price Discrimination and Market Power," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(5), pages 996-1015, September.
    7. Poudou, Jean-Christophe & Roland, Michel, 2014. "Efficiency of uniform pricing in universal service obligations," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 141-152.
    8. Bourreau, Marc & Manenti, Fabio M., 2023. "Selling cross-border in online markets: The impact of the ban on geoblocking strategies," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    9. Yiquan Gu & Leonardo Madio & Carlo Reggiani, 2019. "Exclusive Data, Price Manipulation and Market Leadership," CESifo Working Paper Series 7853, CESifo.
    10. Poudou, Jean-Christophe & Roland, Michel, 2017. "Equity justifications for universal service obligations," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 63-95.

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