We study how learning affects an uninformed monopolist?s supply and investment decisions under multiplicative uncertainty in demand. The monopolist is uninformed because it does not know one of the parameters deÞning the distribution of the random demand. Observing prices reveals this...

We examine an infinite horizon model of quality growth in a durable goods monopoly market. The monopolist generates new quality improvements over time and can sell any available qualities, in any desired bundles, at each point in time. Consumers are identical and for a quality improvement to...

This paper studies a simultaneous-move infinite-horizon delegation game in which the principal of a durable goods monopoly entrusts pricing decisions to a manager who enjoys consuming her monetary rewards but dislikes production effort. The delegation contract allows for continual interference...

We consider a model in which a profit-maximizing organization called the monopolist faces N _ 2 different (micro) market segments while the number k of market segments is chosen the regulator, where k is an integer between 1 and N. Unless k = 1 or k = N, the monopolist's profit maximization is a...

This paper measures the extent to which prices exceed marginal costs in the U.S. natural gas distribution market during the period 1991-2007. We find large departures from marginal cost pricing in all 50 states, with residential and commercial customers facing average markups of over 40%. Based...

Yardstick competition is an incentive regulatory tool which allows the regulator to introduce virtual competition into monopolistic industries. But as with any competitive environnement, regulated firms may have incentives to collude, thereby undermining the efficiency of the regulation. We...

Residential natural gas customers in the United States face volumetric charges for natural gas that average about 30% more than marginal cost. The large markup on natural gas - which is used to cover the fixed infrastructure and operating costs of the local distribution companies - is widely...

We consider the optimal market segmentation problem of a monopolist that faces a continuum of customers when it is costly to prevent resale (or parallel trade) among groups. In our framework, the monopolist chooses the number k≥1 of market segments, but also their design and the discriminatory...

Early 2012 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a Review on Telecommunications Policy and Regulation in Mexico, which was heavily criticized by consultants of Mexico’s incumbent telephone companies. The OECD answered the objections only formally, arguing...