There are 10,000 people in the population, each of whom is willing to pay 10 for at most 1 unit of a given good (i.e. each individual is interested in buying just 1 unit of the good, not 2, and for that unit is willing to pay 10). There are 2 identical firms providing the good. Currently, both firms have a constant marginal cost of 5, and they do not bear any fixed costs. 1) The two firms compete à la Bertrand. What is the equilibrium price and what are the firms’ profits? In case of repeated interactions (and “no game changer”), and both firms adopting a grim-trigger strategy (i.e. “I collude until you collude, if you cheat once, I will fix the minimum price possible forever”), determine the probability “p” that makes collusion sustainable. Starting from the Bertrand equilibrium above identified, suppose now that one firm can adopt a new technology that lowers its marginal cost to 3. 2) Is this a drastic innovation? (Just on the basis of economic reasoning, i.e. no calculus is needed), explain why yes or no. 3) What is the equilibrium price in the market now and how much would this firm be willing to pay for this new technology? 4) Should this innovation be prosecuted by Antitrust? Explain why yes or no. Suppose that this new technology is available to both firms (which are always competing à la Bertrand). The cost to a firm of purchasing this technology is 10,000. Firms simultaneously decide whether to adopt the new technology or not.5) Express the game in a normal form and determine what is (are) the Nash equilibrium (equilibria) of this game.
Question
There are 10,000 people in the population, each of whom is willing to pay 10 for at most 1 unit of a given good (i.e. each individual is interested in buying just 1 unit of the good, not 2, and for that unit is willing to pay 10). There are 2 identical firms providing the good. Currently, both firms have a constant marginal cost of 5, and they do not bear any fixed costs. 1) The two firms compete à la Bertrand. What is the equilibrium price and what are the firms’ profits? In case of repeated interactions (and “no game changer”), and both firms adopting a grim-trigger strategy (i.e. “I collude until you collude, if you cheat once, I will fix the minimum price possible forever”), determine the probability “p” that makes collusion sustainable. Starting from the Bertrand equilibrium above identified, suppose now that one firm can adopt a new technology that lowers its marginal cost to 3. 2) Is this a drastic innovation? (Just on the basis of economic reasoning, i.e. no calculus is needed), explain why yes or no. 3) What is the equilibrium price in the market now and how much would this firm be willing to pay for this new technology? 4) Should this innovation be prosecuted by Antitrust? Explain why yes or no. Suppose that this new technology is available to both firms (which are always competing à la Bertrand). The cost to a firm of purchasing this technology is 10,000. Firms simultaneously decide whether to adopt the new technology or not.5) Express the game in a normal form and determine what is (are) the Nash equilibrium (equilibria) of this game.
Solution
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In a Bertrand competition, firms compete on price. Given that both firms have the same marginal cost, the equilibrium price will be equal to the marginal cost, which is 5. Each firm will sell to half the population (5,000 people), so each firm's profit will be (Price - Marginal Cost) * Quantity = (5 - 5) * 5000 = 0. For collusion to be sustainable, the benefit from cheating today and getting a lower price in all future periods must be less than the benefit from colluding in all periods. This depends on the discount factor and the difference in profits, which are not given in the question.
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This is a drastic innovation because it significantly reduces the marginal cost of production for the firm that adopts it. This will allow the firm to lower its price and potentially capture the entire market, significantly increasing its profits.
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The firm with the lower marginal cost will set a price slightly below the other firm's price to capture the entire market. The equilibrium price could be slightly below 5. The firm would be willing to pay up to the difference in profits between the new and old technology for this innovation.
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This innovation should not be prosecuted by Antitrust. While it does give one firm a significant advantage, it also leads to lower prices for consumers, which is generally considered a positive outcome in terms of economic welfare.
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The game in normal form would have two strategies for each firm: adopt or not adopt the new technology. The Nash equilibrium would depend on the relative costs and benefits of each strategy for each firm. If the increase in profits from adopting the new technology is greater than the cost of adoption (10,000), then both firms will adopt the new technology. If not, then neither firm will adopt the new technology. If one firm's increase in profits is greater than the cost of adoption but the other's is not, then only one firm will adopt the new technology.
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