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Too Much Information Sharing? Welfare Effects of Sharing Acquired Cost Information in Oligopoly

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  • Juan-Josй Ganuza
  • Jos Jansen

Abstract

By using general information structures and precision criteria based on the dispersion of conditional expectations, we study how oligopolists' information acquisition decisions may change the effects of information sharing on the consumer surplus. Sharing information about individual cost parameters gives the following trade-off in Cournot oligopoly. On the one hand, it decreases the expected consumer surplus for a given information precision, as the literature shows. On the other hand, information sharing increases the firms' incentives to acquire information, and the consumer surplus increases in the precision of the firms' information. Interestingly, the latter effect may dominate the former effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan-Josй Ganuza & Jos Jansen, 2012. "Too Much Information Sharing? Welfare Effects of Sharing Acquired Cost Information in Oligopoly," Working Paper Series in Economics 54, University of Cologne, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:kls:series:0054
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    Cited by:

    1. Catilina, Eliane, 2019. "Information Acquisition with Endogenously Determined Cost in Cournot Markets with Stochastic Demand," MPRA Paper 93896, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Tao Wang, 2020. "Competitive Intelligence and Disclosure of Cost Information in Duopoly," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 57(3), pages 665-699, November.
    3. Jeitschko, Thomas D. & Liu, Ting & Wang, Tao, 2018. "Information Acquisition, signaling and learning in duopoly," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 155-191.
    4. Kazunori Miwa, 2021. "An Experimental Study on Information Acquisition and Disclosure in a Cournot Duopoly Market," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 13-01-Rev, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    5. Yin, Xundong & Wang, Sophie Xuefei & Lu, Yuanzhu & Yan, Jianye, 2023. "Endogenous information acquisition and disclosure of private information in a duopoly," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    6. Jihad C. Elnaboulsi & Wassim Daher & Yiğit Sağlam, 2023. "Environmental taxation, information precision, and information sharing," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 25(2), pages 301-341, April.
    7. Troncoso-Valverde, Cristián & Chávez-Bustamante, Felipe, 2024. "Do you want to know a secret? Strategic alliances and competition in product markets," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 313(3), pages 1180-1190.
    8. Shy, Oz & Stenbacka, Rune, 2013. "Investment in customer recognition and information exchange," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 92-106.
    9. Stroffolini, Francesca, 2012. "Access profit-sharing regulation with information acquisition and transmission," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 161-174.
    10. Kazunori Miwa, 2016. "Welfare Effects of Endogenous Information Acquisition and Disclosure in Duopoly Markets," Discussion Paper Series DP2016-17, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Information acquisition; information sharing; information structures; oligopoly; consumer surplus;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L40 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - General

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