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Consumer myopia, standardization and aftermarket monopolization

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  • Miao, Chun-Hui

Abstract

In this paper, I show that the standard Bertrand competition argument does not apply when firms compete for myopic consumers who optimize period-by-period. I develop the model in the context of aftermarket. With overlapping-generations of consumers, simultaneous product offerings in the primary market and aftermarket establishes a price floor for the primary good. This constraint prevents aftermarket rents from being dissipated by the primary market competition. Duopoly firms earn positive profits despite price competition with undifferentiated products. Nonetheless, government interventions to reinforce aftermarket competition such as a standardization requirement may lead to the partial collapse of the primary market.

Suggested Citation

  • Miao, Chun-Hui, 2010. "Consumer myopia, standardization and aftermarket monopolization," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(7), pages 931-946, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:54:y:2010:i:7:p:931-946
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    2. Roman Inderst & Martin Obradovits, 2023. "Excessive Competition On Headline Prices," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 64(2), pages 783-808, May.
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    4. Miao, Chun-Hui, 2022. "The pricing of ancillary goods when selling on a platform," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Michael D. Grubb, 2015. "Consumer Inattention and Bill-Shock Regulation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(1), pages 219-257.
    6. Tanjim Hossain & John Morgan, 2006. "Shrouded attributes and information suppression: Evidence from field experiments," Natural Field Experiments 00336, The Field Experiments Website.
    7. Hattori, Keisuke & Zennyo, Yusuke, 2018. "Pricing and Diffusion of Durables with Network Externalities," MPRA Paper 86203, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Kosfeld, Michael & Schüwer, Ulrich, 2016. "Pricing in retail financial markets and the fallacies of consumer education," SAFE Working Paper Series 47, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, revised 2016.
    9. Johannes Johnen, 2020. "Dynamic competition in deceptive markets," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 51(2), pages 375-401, June.
    10. Keisuke Hattori & Keisaku Higashida, 2023. "Who should be regulated: Genuine producers or third parties?," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 249-286, April.
    11. Marco Savioli & Lorenzo Zirulia, 2020. "Does add-on presence always lead to lower baseline prices? Theory and evidence," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 143-172, March.
    12. Chen, Jiawei, 2018. "Switching costs and network compatibility," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1-30.
    13. Herweg, Fabian & Rosato, Antonio, 2018. "Bait and Ditch: Consumer Naiveté and Salesforce Incentives," CEPR Discussion Papers 12612, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    14. Hattori, Keisuke & Zennyo, Yusuke, 2018. "Heterogeneous Consumer Expectations and Monopoly Pricing for Durables with Network Externalities," MPRA Paper 89893, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 08 Nov 2018.
    15. Sumit Agarwal & John C Driscoll & Xavier Gabaix & David Laibson, 2008. "Learning in the Credit Card Market," Levine's Working Paper Archive 122247000000002028, David K. Levine.
    16. Fabian Herweg & Antonio Rosato, 2020. "Bait and ditch: Consumer naïveté and salesforce incentives," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 97-121, January.
    17. Heidhues, Paul & Köszegi, Botond, 2018. "Behavioral Industrial Organization," CEPR Discussion Papers 12988, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Xavier Gabaix & David Laibson, 2018. "Shrouded attributes, consumer myopia and information suppression in competitive markets," Chapters, in: Victor J. Tremblay & Elizabeth Schroeder & Carol Horton Tremblay (ed.), Handbook of Behavioral Industrial Organization, chapter 3, pages 40-74, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Alexei Alexandrov, 2016. "Competing for Consumers with Self‐Control Problems," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 179-194, March.
    20. Wenzel, Tobias, 2024. "Collusion, inattentive consumers and shrouded prices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 579-591.

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