Doctor of Philosophy

Die Liberalisierung der Elektrizitätsmärkte in Europa hat zu einem deutlichen Strukturwandel der Energiewirtschaft geführt; Überkapazitäten und Wettbewerbsdruck bewirkten eine erhebliche Umorientierung in den Energieversorgungsunternehmen. Durch die zunehmende Liquidität des kurzfristigen...

This dissertation uses game theoretic models to examine the effects of agent anonymity on markets for goods and for information. In open, anonymous settings, such as the Internet, anonymity is relatively easy to obtain --- oftentimes another email address is sufficient. By becoming anonymous,...

The ability to digitize information goods such as music and movies and the growing accessibility of the Internet has led to online piracy and the emergence of a new class of retailers that specialize in digital downloads. Both online piracy and digital retailers have changed the dynamics of the...

The dissertation studies game theoretical models of competitive bidding on multi-unit auction markets. The analysis concerns both monopoly and oligopoly settings. A major part of the thesis deals with equilibrium bidding in variable supply auctions – trade mechanisms in which a monopoly seller...

In this study, we model firms that sell a product and a complementary online service, where only the latter displays positive network effects. That is, the value each consumer derives from the service increases with the total number of consumers that subscribe to the service. In addition, the...

Covers theoretical and empirical work dealing with the structure, behavior, and performance of firms and markets and core issues in antitrust. Topics include: the organization of the firm, monopoly, price discrimination, oligopoly, and auctions. Theoretical and empirical work are integrated in...

We develop an analytical framework to investigate the competitiveimplications of personalized pricing and quality allocation (PPQ),whereby rms charge di¤erent prices and o¤erdi¤erent qualities to di¤erent consumers, based on theirwillingness to pay. We embed PPQ in a model of...

As Internet-based commerce becomes increasingly widespread, large datasets about the demand for and pricing of a wide variety of productsbecome available. These present exciting new opportunities for empiricaleconomic and business research, but also raise new statistical issuesand challenges. In...

This paper analyzes the optimal choice of pricing schedules andtechnological deterrence levels in a market with digital piracy wheresellers can influence the degree of piracy by implementing digitalrights management (DRM) systems. It is shown that a monopolist’soptimal pricing schedule can be...