Recent Developments in the Economics of Price Discrimination

Mark Armstrong

Industrial Organization from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper selectively surveys the recent literature on price discrimination. The focus is on three aspects of pricing decisions: the information about customers available to firms; the instruments firms can use in the design of their tariffs; and the ability of firms to commit to their pricing plans. Developments in marketing technology mean that firms often have access to more information about individual customers than was previously the case. The use of this information might be restricted by public policy towards customer privacy. Where it is not restricted, firms may be unable to commit to the use they make of the information. With monopoly supply, an increased ability to engage in price discrimination will boost profit unless the firm cannot commit to its pricing policy. With competition, the effects of price discrimination on profit, consumer surplus and overall welfare depend on the kinds of information and/or instruments available to firms. The paper investigates the circumstances in which price discrimination causes all prices (and hence profit) to fall.

Keywords: Price discrimination; oligopoly; dynamic pricing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 41 pages
Date: 2005-11-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-com, nep-mic and nep-mkt
Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 41
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wpa:wuwpio:0511004

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