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Asymmetric Information and Differentiated Durable Goods Monopoly: Intra-period versus intertemporal price discrimination

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  • Didier Laussel
  • Ngo Van Long
  • Joana Resende

Abstract

A durable good monopolist faces a continuum of heterogeneous customers who make purchase decisions by comparing present and expected price-quality offers. The monopolist designs a sequence of price-quality menus to segment the market. We consider the Markov Perfect Equilibrium (MPE) of a game where the monopolist is unable to commit to future price-quality menus. We obtain the novel results that (a) under certain conditions, the monopolist covers the whole market in the first period (even when a static Mussa-Rosen monopolist would not cover the whole market), because this is a strategic means to convince customers that lower prices would not be offered in future periods, and that (b) this can happen only under the stage-wise Stackelberg leadership assumption (whereby consumers base their expectations on the value of the state variable at the end of the period). Conditions under which MPE necessarily involve sequentially trading are also derived. Un monopoleur de biens durables fait face à un continuum de clients hétérogènes qui prennent des décisions d'achat en comparant les offres qualité-prix actuelles et attendues. Le monopole conçoit une séquence de menus qualité-prix pour segmenter le marché. Nous considérons l'équilibre parfait de Markov (MPE) d'un jeu où le monopoleur est incapable de s'engager sur les futurs menus de qualité-prix. Nous prouvons que (a) dans certaines conditions, le monopoleur couvre l'ensemble du marché dans la première période (même lorsqu'un monopoleur statique de Mussa-Rosen ne couvrirait pas l'ensemble du marché), car c'est un moyen stratégique de convaincre les clients que des prix plus bas ne seraient pas proposés dans les périodes futures, et que (b) cela ne peut se produire que sous l'hypothèse de leadership par étapes de Stackelberg (dans laquelle les consommateurs fondent leurs attentes sur la valeur de la variable d'état à la fin de la période). Les conditions dans lesquelles le MPE implique nécessairement des échanges séquentiels sont également dérivées.

Suggested Citation

  • Didier Laussel & Ngo Van Long & Joana Resende, 2021. "Asymmetric Information and Differentiated Durable Goods Monopoly: Intra-period versus intertemporal price discrimination," CIRANO Working Papers 2021s-31, CIRANO.
    • Handle: RePEc:cir:cirwor:2021s-31
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Driskill, Robert & McCafferty, Stephen, 2001. "Monopoly and Oligopoly Provision of Addictive Goods," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 42(1), pages 43-72, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Didier Laussel & Ngo Van Long, 2022. "Quality differentiation in durable goods monopoly always yields strictly positive profits," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 42(2), pages 546-552.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intertemporal price discrimination; Durable goods monopoly; Product quality; Markov perfect equilibrium; Discrimination tarifaire intertemporelle; Monopoleur des biens durables; La qualité des produits; équilibre parfait de Markov;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games
    • D42 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Monopoly
    • L12 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies
    • L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality

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