Oligopoly limit-pricing in the lab

B-Tier
Journal: Games and Economic Behavior
Year: 2009
Volume: 66
Issue: 1
Pages: 373-393

Authors (3)

Müller, Wieland (Universität Wien) Spiegel, Yossi (not in RePEc) Yehezkel, Yaron (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

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

Abstract

We examine the behavior of senders and receivers in the context of oligopoly limit pricing experiments in which high prices chosen by two privately informed incumbents may signal to a potential entrant that the industry-wide costs are high and that entry is unprofitable. The results provide strong support for the theoretical prediction that the incumbents can credibly deter unprofitable entry without having to distort their prices away from their full information levels. Yet, in a large number of cases, asymmetric information induces incumbents to raise prices when costs are low. The results also show that the entrants' behavior is by and large "bi-polar:" entrants tend to enter when the incumbents' prices are "low" but tend to stay out when the incumbents' prices are "high."

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:gamebe:v:66:y:2009:i:1:p:373-393
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-26