Strategic Reneging and Market Power in Sequential Markets

A-Tier
Journal: RAND Journal of Economics
Year: 2025
Volume: 56
Issue: 1
Pages: 3-34

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

This article investigates the incentives for firms with market power to manipulate markets by strategically reneging on forward commitments. We first study the behavior of a dominant firm in a two‐period model with demand uncertainty. We then use the model's predictions and a machine learning approach to investigate multiple occurrences of reneging on long‐term commitments in Alberta's electricity market in 2010–2011. We find that a supplier significantly increased its revenues by strategically reneging on its capacity availability obligations, causing Alberta's annual electricity procurement costs to increase by as much as $600 million (+17%).

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:randje:v:56:y:2025:i:1:p:3-34
Journal Field
Industrial Organization
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-24