This article discusses two leading theoretical approaches to understanding how firms operate in markets and the functioning of their internal organizations. Game theory is a microanalytic approach that offers a useful framework for organizing thinking about the factors that influence firm...

This study uses factor analysis to identify five service factors that are modeled with price as endogenous variables in a simultaneous equations framework to test whether a more concentrated market structure is related to higher service levels, which, in turn, are related to higher prices (the...

According to monthly IRI scanner data for January 1993 to March 1998, cereal prices declined even after adjusting for trade promotions and reduced manufacturer coupons during the public campaign in 1995 and early 1996, as well as after the industry's announced shelf price reductions in Spring...

This paper examines the exercise of market power in vertical marketing channels in a more general and novel fashion than prior research. Neoclassical models arising from the work of Adam Smith, George Stigler, Harold Demsetz, and John Spengler are presented in juxtaposition to the more commonly...

This paper presents a comparative analysis of three different economic studies that played major roles in the policy debate over the Compact. It draws an important distinction between before and after analysis and counterfactual impact analysis and highlights constraining assumptions in models....

This article responds to key points in the GMA Fact Sheet Analysis of cereal industry conduct and performance. It also explains the organization of the industry using research by Wall Street analysts that document high concentration, barriers to entry, and noncompetitive pricing games. The...