Profit maximization mitigates competition

B-Tier
Journal: Economic Theory
Year: 1995
Volume: 7
Issue: 1
Pages: 139-160

Authors (2)

Egbert Dierker (not in RePEc) Birgit Grodahl (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

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

Abstract

We consider oligopolistic markets in which the notion of shareholders'utility is well-defined and compare the Bertrand-Nash equilibria in case of utility maximization with those under the usual profit maximization hypothesis. Our main result states that profit maximization leads to less price competition than utility maximization. Since profit maximization tends to raise prices, it may be regarded as beneficial for the owners as a whole. Moreover, if profit maximization is a good proxy for utility maximization, then there is no need for a general equilibrium analysis that takes the distribution of profits among consumers fully into account and partial equilibrium analysis suffices.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:spr:joecth:v:7:y:1995:i:1:p:139-160
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25