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Dynamic Oligopoly and Price Stickiness

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  • Olivier Wang
  • Iván Werning

Abstract

How does market concentration affect the potency of monetary policy? The ubiquitous monopolistic-competition framework is silent on this issue. To tackle this question we build a model with heterogeneous oligopolistic sectors. In each sector, a finite number of firms play a Bertrand dynamic game with staggered price rigidity. Following an extensive Industrial Organization literature, we focus on Markov equilibria within each sector. Aggregating up, we study monetary shocks and provide a closed-form formula for the response of aggregate output, highlighting three measurable sufficient statistics: demand elasticities, market concentration, and markups. We calibrate our model to the empirical evidence on pass-through, and find that higher market concentration significantly amplifies the real effects of monetary policy. To separate the strategic effects of oligopoly from the effects this has on residual demand, we compare our model to one with monopolistic firms after modifying consumer preferences to ensure firms face comparable residual demands. Finally, the Phillips curve for our model displays inflation persistence and endogenous cost-push shocks.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier Wang & Iván Werning, 2020. "Dynamic Oligopoly and Price Stickiness," NBER Working Papers 27536, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27536
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    Cited by:

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    2. James A. Schmitz, 2020. "Monopolies Inflict Great Harm on Low- and Middle-Income Americans," Staff Report 601, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    3. Ariel Burstein & Basile Grassi & Vasco Carvalho, 2019. "Bottom-Up Markup Fluctuations," 2019 Meeting Papers 505, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    4. Hong, Gee Hee & Klepacz, Matthew & Pasten, Ernesto & Schoenle, Raphael, 2023. "The real effects of monetary shocks: Evidence from micro pricing moments," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1-20.
    5. Ueda, Kozo, 2023. "Duopolistic competition and monetary policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 70-85.
    6. Doron Sayag & Avichai Snir & Daniel Levy, 2024. "Small Price Changes, Sales Volume, and Menu Cost," Papers 2403.07166, arXiv.org.
    7. Romain Duval & Davide Furceri & Raphaël Lee & Marina M. Tavares, 2024. "Market power and monetary policy transmission," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 91(362), pages 669-700, April.
    8. Fernando Alvarez & Francesco Lippi & Panagiotis Souganidis, 2023. "Price Setting With Strategic Complementarities as a Mean Field Game," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 91(6), pages 2005-2039, November.
    9. David R. Baqaee & Emmanuel Farhi & Kunal Sangani, 2024. "The Supply-Side Effects of Monetary Policy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 132(4), pages 1065-1112.
    10. Alessandro Ferrari & Francisco Queirós, 2021. "Firm Heterogeneity, Market Power and Macroeconomic Fragility," CSEF Working Papers 627, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    11. Michael Klien & Peter Huber & Peter Reschenhofer & Gerlinde Gutheil-Knopp-Kirchwald & Gerald Kössl, 2023. "Die preisdämpfende Wirkung des gemeinnützigen Wohnbaus," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 69779, April.
    12. Lambert Dong, 2024. "Strategic complementarities as stochastic control under sticky price," Papers 2403.19847, arXiv.org.
    13. Suveg, Melinda, 2021. "Does Firm Exit Increase Prices?," Working Paper Series 1414, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    14. Anastasia Burya & Rui Mano & Mr. Yannick Timmer & Miss Anke Weber, 2022. "Monetary Policy Under Labor Market Power," IMF Working Papers 2022/128, International Monetary Fund.
    15. Isabel Gödl-Hanisch & Manuel Menkhoff, 2023. "Firms’ Pass-Through Dynamics: A Survey Approach," CESifo Working Paper Series 10520, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E0 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General
    • E3 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles
    • E5 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit

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