A general model of price competition with soft capacity constraints

Marie-Laure Cabon-Dhersin () and Nicolas Drouhin ()
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Marie-Laure Cabon-Dhersin: Université de Rouen Normandie, CREAM

Economic Theory, 2020, vol. 70, issue 1, No 3, 95-120

Abstract: Abstract We propose a general model of oligopoly with firms relying on a two factor production function. In a first stage, firms choose a certain fixed factor level. In the second stage, firms compete on price and adjust the variable factor to satisfy all the demand. When the factors are substitutable, the capacity constraint is “soft,” implying a convex cost function in the second stage. We show that there exists a continuum of subgame perfect equilibria in pure strategies, whatever the returns to scale. Among them, a payoff dominant one can always be selected. The equilibrium price may increase with the number of firms.

Keywords: Price competition; Tacit collusion; Convex cost; Capacity constraint; Limit pricing strategy; Returns to scale (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D43 L13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Working Paper: A general model of price competition with soft capacity constraints (2019)
Working Paper: A general model of price competition with soft capacity constraints (2017)
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DOI: 10.1007/s00199-019-01203-w

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