In this paper, we propose an example of successive oligopolies where the downstream firmsshare the same decreasing returns technology of the Cobb-Douglas type. We stress thedifferences between the conclusions obtained under this assumption and those resultingfrom the traditional example...

In this paper we analyze how the technology used by downstream firms can influence inputand output market prices. We show via an example that both these prices increase under adecreasing returns technology while the contrary holds when the technology is constant....

This paper develops an equilibrium model of vertical foreclosure with the choice of input specifications. In this model, vertical foreclosure occurs as the upstream division of the integrated firm makes a specialized input for its sister downstream division while it would, as an independent...

This paper first introduces an approach relying on market games to examine how successive oligopolies do operate between downstream and upstream markets. This approach is then compared with the traditional analysis of oligopolistic interaction in successive markets. The market outcomes resulting...

This paper uses computational methods that reveal ambiguous strategic effects of vertical mergers in a duopoly setting featuring incomplete information about sellers' costs, and differences in sellers' productive capabilities. First, vertical mergers can be jointly unprofitable. Second, the...

In its landmark ruling in Illinois Brick Co. v. Illinois in 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court restricted standing to sue for recovery of antitrust damages to direct purchasers. However, antitrust damages are typically (in part) passed on to intermediaries lower in the chain of production and...

We evaluate behavior-based price discrimination from an antitrust perspective by focusing on an industry with inherited market dominance. Under horizontal differentiation behavior-based pricing does not by itself lead to persistence of dominance unless the dominant firm is protected by...

This paper offers an explanation for multinationals that are both horizontally and vertically related. Specifically, when labor is unionized, the conventional incentives for merger may disappear in industries of successive (or bilateral) monopoly, due to a hidden effect of "double...

This paper analyzes the impact of competition among downstream firms on an upstream firm's payoff and on its incentive to vertically integrate when firms in both segments negotiate optimal contracts. We argue that as competition becomes more intense, the upstream firm obtains a larger share of a...