This paper studies the introduction of new products (increase in product variety) in the automobile industry. The focus is on the two sources of market power that may allow the firms to get higher profits (and, thus, recoup investments): new products and brand-name reputation. The effects of new...

Building on a model of the interaction of risk-averse frms that compete in forward and spot markets, we develop an empirical strategy to test whether oligopolistic frms use forward contracts for strategic motives, for risk-hedging, or for both. An increase in the number of players weakens the...

Der vorliegende Beitrag stellt empirische Ergebnisse zur Analyse von Marktverhalten der russischen Exporteure auf den internationalen Märkten für Düngemittel vor. Der Fokus auf Russland begründet sich darin, dass das Land beim Einsturz des Kali-Kartells stark im Rampenlicht stand. Bei zwei...

This paper quantifies the degree of market power in the German wholesale electricity market. A fundamental model is used to derive competitive marginal cost estimators which are compared with observed electricity prices. Marginal costs are calculated focusing on market fundamentals such as plant...

This paper shows that generators exercised increasing market power in the England and Wales wholesale electricity market in the second half of the 1990s despite declining market concentration. It examines whether this was consistent with static, non-cooperative oligopoly models, which are widely...

Building on a model of the interaction of risk-averse firms that compete in forward and spot markets, we develop an empirical strategy to test whether oligopolistic firms use forward contracts for strategic motives, for risk-hedging, or for both. An increase in the number of players weakens the...

This paper empirically assesses the impact of a discontinuous tax schedule on prices, markups and product assortment in the Brazilian automobile industry. To this end, I estimate a structural, equilibrium model of demand and supply for over a hundred different models and engine sizes of...

We model networks of relational (or implicit)contracts, exploring how sanctioning power and equilibrium conditions change under different network configurations and information transmission technologies. In our model, relations are the links, and the value of the network lies in its ability to...

In this paper, we address the incentives to invest in environmental innovation of enterprisesthat exercise market power in the output market and also buy and sell pollution permits.Differently from the existing literature, using a market approach we explicitly model theinteraction between the...

In a vertically separated industry, where the input suppliers have significantmarket power, not only entry but also the markets (upstream or downstream) withentry possibilities might be a concern to the policy makers. While ‘entry in thedownstream market only’ always increases welfare,...