IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jemstr/v22y2013i3p640-667.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Oligopolies with (Somewhat) Environmentally Conscious Consumers: Market Equilibrium and Regulatory Intervention

Author

Listed:
  • George Deltas
  • Donna Ramirez Harrington
  • Madhu Khanna

Abstract

We consider a horizontally differentiated duopoly where consumers care about the product's “greenness.” Firms can be asymmetric: they may differ in the product's intrinsic value and may also differ in their chosen level of greenness. We examine the choice of greenness and the implications of various policy interventions. We show that (i) the choices of product greenness are strategic substitutes, (ii) the high‐intrinsic quality firm produces the greener product, (iii) the low‐quality firm's greenness may increase with the cost of its provision or decrease with consumer willingness to pay for it, (iv) a minimum quality standard (MQS) leads the greener firm to lower its environmental quality and can even reduce average quality, (v) greenness is underprovided even if consumers fully internalize the externality, and (v) an MQS can reduce welfare if the greenness of the high‐quality firm exceeds the MQS, even when environmental quality is underprovided. The effects of policy interventions on profits differ qualitatively across polices and firms: A firm that lobbies for one type of intervention may lobby against another similar one, and a firm may lobby for an intervention while its competitor may lobby against it. A subsidy for the development costs of a green product can financially hurt both firms.

Suggested Citation

  • George Deltas & Donna Ramirez Harrington & Madhu Khanna, 2013. "Oligopolies with (Somewhat) Environmentally Conscious Consumers: Market Equilibrium and Regulatory Intervention," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(3), pages 640-667, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jemstr:v:22:y:2013:i:3:p:640-667
    DOI: 10.1111/jems.12019
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jems.12019
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jems.12019?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas P. Lyon, 1999. "Quality Competition, Insurance, and Consumer Choice in Health Care Markets," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(4), pages 546-580, December.
    2. Asher Wolinsky, 1997. "Regulation of Duopoly: Managed Competition vs Regulated Monopolies," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(4), pages 821-847, December.
    3. Aurora García‐Gallego & Nikolaos Georgantzís, 2009. "Market Effects of Changes in Consumers' Social Responsibility," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 235-262, March.
    4. Fudenberg, Drew & Tirole, Jean, 1984. "The Fat-Cat Effect, the Puppy-Dog Ploy, and the Lean and Hungry Look," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(2), pages 361-366, May.
    5. Bulow, Jeremy I & Geanakoplos, John D & Klemperer, Paul D, 1985. "Multimarket Oligopoly: Strategic Substitutes and Complements," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(3), pages 488-511, June.
    6. Toshihiro Uchida, 2007. "Information Disclosure Policies: When Do They Bring Environmental Improvements?," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 13(1), pages 47-64, February.
    7. Avner Shaked & John Sutton, 1982. "Relaxing Price Competition Through Product Differentiation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 49(1), pages 3-13.
    8. Andreoni, James, 1990. "Impure Altruism and Donations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(401), pages 464-477, June.
    9. Klaus Desmet & Stephen L. Parente, 2010. "Bigger Is Better: Market Size, Demand Elasticity, And Innovation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 51(2), pages 319-333, May.
    10. repec:kap:iaecre:v:13:y:2007:i:1:p:47-64 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. C. Lombardini-Riipinen, 2005. "Optimal Tax Policy under Environmental Quality Competition," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 32(3), pages 317-336, November.
    12. Barron, John M & Taylor, Beck A & Umbeck, John R, 2000. "A Theory of Quality-Related Differences in Retail Margins: Why There Is a "Premium" on Premium Gasoline," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(4), pages 550-569, October.
    13. Uri Ronnen, 1991. "Minimum Quality Standards, Fixed Costs, and Competition," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 22(4), pages 490-504, Winter.
    14. Keith Brouhle & Madhu Khanna, 2007. "Information And The Provision Of Quality Differentiated Products," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 45(2), pages 377-394, April.
    15. Andreoni, James, 1988. "Privately provided public goods in a large economy: The limits of altruism," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 57-73, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. L. Lambertini & A. Tampieri, 2012. "On the Emergence of Overcompliance with Endogenous Environmental Standards and Patronising Consumers," Working Papers wp847, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    2. Doni, Nicola & Ricchiuti, Giorgio, 2013. "Market equilibrium in the presence of green consumers and responsible firms: A comparative statics analysis," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 380-395.
    3. Susan Athey & Armin Schmutzler, 1999. "Innovation and the Emergence of Market Dominance," Working papers 99-18, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
    4. Mantovani, Andrea & Tarola, Ornella & Vergari, Cecilia, 2016. "Hedonic and environmental quality: A hybrid model of product differentiation," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 99-123.
    5. Vasileiou, Efi & Georgantzís, Nikolaos, 2015. "An experiment on energy-saving competition with socially responsible consumers: Opening the black box," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-10.
    6. Luca Lambertini & Andrea Mantovani & Cecilia Vergari, 2021. "Green monopoly and downward leapfrogging," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 48(1), pages 93-103, March.
    7. Ya‐chin Wang & Leonard F.s. Wang, 2009. "Equivalence Of Competition Mode In A Vertically Differentiated Duopoly With Delegation," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 77(4), pages 577-590, December.
    8. Romano, Richard & Yildirim, Huseyin, 2001. "Why charities announce donations: a positive perspective," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 423-447, September.
    9. E. Glen Weyl & Michal Fabinger, 2013. "Pass-Through as an Economic Tool: Principles of Incidence under Imperfect Competition," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 121(3), pages 528-583.
    10. Kresimir Zigic & Jiri Strelicky & Michal Kunin, 2020. "Private and Public IPR Protection in a Vertically Differentiated Software Duopoly," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp671, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    11. Garella, Paolo G. & Lambertini, Luca, 2014. "Bidimensional vertical differentiation," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 1-10.
    12. Amir, Rabah & Gama, Adriana & Maret, Isabelle, 2019. "Environmental quality and monopoly pricing," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    13. Lambertini, Luca & Tampieri, Alessandro, 2012. "Do minimum quality standards bite in polluting industries?," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 184-194.
    14. Etro, Federico, 2016. "Research in economics and industrial organization," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(4), pages 511-517.
    15. Roberto Cellini & Fabio Lamantia, 2015. "Quality competition in markets with regulated prices and minimum quality standards," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 345-370, April.
    16. David P. Baron, 2009. "A Positive Theory of Moral Management, Social Pressure, and Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(1), pages 7-43, March.
    17. Klaus Conrad, 2005. "Price Competition and Product Differentiation When Consumers Care for the Environment," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 31(1), pages 1-19, May.
    18. Kresimir Zigic & Jiri Strelicky & Michael Kunin, 2014. "How Does Public IPR Protection Affect its Private Counterpart? Copyright and the Firms' Own IPR Protection in a Software Duopoly," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp518, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    19. Paolo G. Garella, 2021. "The effects of taxes and subsidies on environmental qualities in a differentiated duopoly," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 197-209, August.
    20. Naeeni, Hannan Sadjady & Sahin, Funda & Powell Robinson, E., 2023. "Socially responsible product-positioning: Impact of halo/horns spillover on product image," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 308(2), pages 852-863.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jemstr:v:22:y:2013:i:3:p:640-667. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/research/journals/JEMS/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.