We consider a three-level supply chain where a monopolistic seller distributes its product both directly through its own distribution channel and indirectly through platforms accessed by intermediaries competing for final consumers. In this setting, we examine the welfare effects of platform...

In a Cournot industry where firms are privately informed about their marginal costs, raising entry barriers (i.e., imposing strictly positive, but not too large, entry costs) increases expected output, entrants' profits, total welfare, and might benefit consumers. Under Bayes-Cournot...

We study the competitive and welfare effects of wholesale price-parity agreements. These contracts prevent a monopolist, who sells its product to final consumers both directly and indirectly through alternative distribution channels, to charge different input (wholesale) prices to competing...

We describe the healthcare industry as a mixed oligopoly, where a public and two private providers compete, and examine the effects of a merger between two private healthcare providers on prices,quality, and consumer surplus. When the price and quality of the public provider are regulated, the...

We study the competitive effects of a vertical merger in a digital industry where an integrated incumbent (closed ecosystem) competes with an open ecosystem formed by an upstream supplier (ecosystem gatekeeper) and two downstream retailers selling differentiated products. Absent innovation, the...

Entrants often need to make considerable sunk investments whose returns are highlyuncertain. The option to exit the market if returns are low helps to reduce investment risksand can be an important impetus to investment. We examine the interaction between exitpolicy and up-front investment by...