Input price discrimination can encourage downstream investment and increase welfare

C-Tier
Journal: Economics Letters
Year: 2022
Volume: 217
Issue: C

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper investigates the implications of input price discrimination when an upstream monopolist commits to prices before downstream firms make R&D investment and output decisions. We find that input price discrimination can stimulate downstream R&D investment and shift production efficiently relative to uniform pricing. Specifically, input price discrimination impedes investment when the investing firm is a technological leader, fosters investment when it is a laggard, and may improve welfare when investment allows the laggard to overtake the leader. An important policy implication of our results is that antitrust regulation that allows input price discrimination may contribute to technological catch-up.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:ecolet:v:217:y:2022:i:c:s0165176522002373
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25