We study the optimal behaviour of a cartel faced with fringe competition and imperfectly attentive consumers. Intertemporal price dispersion obfuscates consumer price comparison which aids the cartel through two channels: it reduces the effectiveness of free riding by the fringe; and it relaxes...

We develop a theory of optimal collusive intertemporal price dispersion. Dispersion clouds consumer price awareness, encouraging firms to coordinate on dispersed prices. Our theory generates a collusive rationale for price cycles and sales. Patient firms can support optimal collusion at the...

In many contests, a participant’s choices can influence the value of the prize on offer. However, in the standard contest model, the value of the prize is exogenous and participants have discretion only over the effort they exert. This paper proposes a new type of N -player contest in which...

This paper develops a model to explain recent trends of work intensification and employee burnout. In an organization a manager assigns tasks to an employee; doing tasks is costly and too many create burnout. In a matrix-style organization, different managers simultaneously assign tasks to an...

What is the optimal diversity of expertise in a team? Prat (2002) shows that a supermodular production function (which describes strategic complementarity between individual outputs) implies a lower optimal diversity than a submodular function (which corresponds to strategic substitutability)....