quot;Buyer-optionquot; contracts, in which the buyer selects the product variant to be traded and chooses whether to accept delivery, are often used to solve holdup problems. We present a simple game that focuses sharply on subgames in which the buyer proposes inefficient actions in order to...

In a contestable market the possibility of "hit-and-run" entry prevents the price from rising above average cost. A contestable natural monopoly earns zero profits despite economies of scale. We show that informational imperfections can also result in a single firm serving the entire market with...

'Buyer-option' contracts, in which the buyer selects the product variant to be traded and chooses whether to accept delivery, are often used to solve holdup problems. We present a simple game that focuses sharply on subgames in which the buyer proposes inefficient actions in order to improve his...