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Oligopoly
Varian, Chapter 27
Two firms, two issues
• Concentrate on duopoly – easy notation
• Two issues:
1. What are firms’ choices?
– Choose a quantity/quality of output; or
– Choose a price
2. What is the timing of firms’ actions?
– Simultaneous decisions; or
– Sequential decisions
Four interactions
Timing
Simultaneous Sequential
Strategy Prices Bertrand Stackelberg-p
Quantities Cournot Stackelberg-q
p(y1+y2)
• If outputs are y1 and y2, profits are
p1(y1,y2) = p(y1+y2) y1 - c(y1)
p2(y1,y2) = p(y1+y2) y2 - c(y2)
Quantity leadership: Stackelberg
• Firm 1 goes first; firm 2 follows
• The follower’s problem: Given y1, choose
y2 to
max p2(y1,y2) = [p(y1+y2) y2] - c(y2)
Revenue Costs
Profit
increasing
Firm 2’s reaction function
y2 = f2(y1) = (A – By1)/2B
y1
The leader’s problem
• Firm 1 anticipates firm 2’s reaction to its
output choice
• So it chooses y1 to
max p1(y1,y2) = [p(y1+y2) y1] - c(y1)
or
Stackelberg equilibrium
y1
Stackelberg outcome
• Firm outputs
y1 = A/(2B)
y2 = f2(y1) = (A – By1)/(2B) = A/(4B)
Stackelberg equilibrium
2’s Profit
increasing Room for a
Pareto improvement
1’s Profit y1
increasing
Cournot competition
• Now both firms choose output
simultaneously
• We assume their choices constitute a
Nash equilibrium
• Whatever 1’s output, y1 , firm 2 must do
the best it can: Firm 2’s reaction
y2 = f2(y1) function
• Whatever 2’s output, y2 , firm 1 must do
the best it can:
y1 = f1(y2) Firm 1’s reaction
function
Cournot equilibrium
y2
y1 = f1(y2)
Cournot equilibrium
2’s Profit
increasing
y2 = f2(y1)
1’s Profit y1
increasing
Linear demand, zero costs
• 2’ reaction function is
y2 = f2(y1) = (A – By1)/2B
• 1’ reaction function is
y1 = f1(y2) = (A – By2)/2B
• Industry output
YC = y1+y2 = (2A)/(3B)
Pareto efficiency
y2
Is the Cournot equilibrium
y1 = f1(y2) Pareto efficient from the
perspective of the two firms?
Still room for a
Pareto improvement
Cournot equilibrium
y2 = f2(y1)
y1
Maximizing joint profits
• Suppose the firms cooperatively choose
outputs, y1 and y2
• When costs are zero, they choose
aggregate output Y = y1 + y2 like a single
monopolist:
YM = A/(2B)
• Note that
YM < YC < YS < YP
A/(2B) A/B
(2A)/(3B) (3A)/(4B)
Comparing output levels
y2
y1 = f1(y2) 45o
YP
YS Pareto efficient from
YC firms’ and consumers’
perspective
YM
y2 = f2(y1)