The impact of product variety on welfare has received little attention in the electronic commerce literature. The problem with product variety is that more variety does not necessarily imply higher welfare. This paper finds the conditions under which more variety, if caused by lower fixed costs,...

In the United States, the level of concern over 401(k) fees is steadily increasing. However, very few employers understand the nature and scope of the retirement plan industry's business model. Not even the Federal Government fully grasps the issue. Understanding how hidden fees came about, and...

Experimental evidence suggests that consumers are affected by reference prices and by relative price differences ("relative thinking"). A linear-city model of two retailers that sell two goods suggests how this consumer behavior affects firm strategy and market outcomes. A simple model analyzes...

The article presents a model that analyzes the optimal strategy of multi-product firms when consumers are affected by reference prices. Generally, the stronger the consideration of reference prices is, the more intensified the competition is and the lower are the prices and profits. In some...

The model proposed in this paper explains three stylized facts derived from case evidence: Cartel formation is more likely (i) when the industry has been hit by a negative profitability shock under the condition that (ii) this shock is rather persistent. (iii) This pattern is independent from...

This study empirically examines the effects of competition through differentiation on audit pricing. Based on prior economic theory on differentiated-product markets (e.g., Hotelling, 1929; Tirole, 1988), we hypothesize that audit fees are affected by an auditor's relative location in a market...

The paper seeks to integrate the theoretical developments in the field of imperfect competition and monopoly, and operation of the firm in such conditions, with the theories of income distribution, particularly among the macroeconomic aggregates of capital and labor. And formulating a working...

Experimental evidence suggests that consumers are affected by reference prices and by relative price differences (“relative thinking”). A linear-city model of two retailers that sell two goods suggests how this consumer behavior affects firm strategy and market outcomes. A simple model...

This paper presents a general equilibrium model where rms producing the consumption good in an oligopolistic market purchase advertising in order to increase their market shares. The model aims to evaluate the general equilibrium consequences of such a behaviour. It analyses the eects of a...

In this note, we use a two-stage game to examine the domination of uniform price by third-degree price discrimination in a -firm, two-market model. Not surprisingly, when , a monopoly case results. Accordingly, the price, output, profit, and welfare effects under third-degree price...