Commodity markets are characterized by large volumes of forward contracts as well as high volatility. They are often accused of weak competitive pressure. This article extends the existing literature by analyzing tacit collusion of firms, forward trading and volatility simultaneously. The...

We provide an extensive and general investigation of the effects on industryperformance - profits, social welfare and price-cost margins - of exogenously changing the number of firms in Cournot markets. This includes an in-depth exploration of the well-known trade-off between competition and...

A structural model of entry and fiscal policy is presented. It shows that taxation of variable production costs can increase product prices, lower competition, and reduce the availability of new products in small markets. The model's test is based on a unique nationwide fiscal experiment. We...

This paper studies vertical R&D spillovers between upstream and downstream firms. The model incorporates two vertically related industries, with horizontal spillovers within each industry and vertical spillovers between the two industries. Four types of R&D cooperation are studied: no...

A structural model of entry and fiscal policy is presented. It shows that taxation of variable production costs can increase product prices, lower competition, and reduce the availability of new products in small markets. Existing theoretical models of entry and taxation either assume imperfect...

The impact of a firm's strategic marketing mix choices on profitability can be evaluated by understanding the impact of those choices on consumer demand for the firm's products and on the firm's costs. Additionally, a firm's strategic marketing mix choices, and its demand and costs can be...

Several competition authorities have accused petrol retailers of engaging in collusive conduct, which results in alleged “excessive” prices as well as simultaneous price setting across filling stations. However, petrol retailers must exert a substantial amount of market power if they are to...

The paper introduces a new simulation model of market dynamics by integrating several concepts of evolutionary economics. In the course of market evolution various changes take place of which the emergence of consumers' preferences and of the knowledge that is needed to meet these preferences...

Der Deal der beiden größten deutschen Energielieferanten RWE und E.ON zum Tausch verschiedener Geschäftseinheiten, welcher Mitte September 2019 genehmigt wurde, wird den deutschen Energiemarkt wesentlich umstrukturieren und sowohl im Bereich Erzeugung als auch im Vertrieb zu jeweils einem...