Equilibrium Price Dispersion: A Model of Intermediated Search with Repeated Interaction
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Thesis, HonoursAuthor/s
Cusbert, ThomasAbstract
This thesis develops a model in which homogeneous producers and merchants interact repeatedly in a search market. Merchants are able to reduce the cost of search by o ering trading certainty to pro- ducers with whom they have a preexisting relationship. Equilibria are characterised in Markov strategies, and it is found that price- dispersed equilibria exist in asymmetric strategies. Conditions in which a price-dispersed equilibrium can be welfare improving com- pared to a single-price equilibrium are found, and two extensions to the basic model are provided.This thesis develops a model in which homogeneous producers and merchants interact repeatedly in a search market. Merchants are able to reduce the cost of search by o ering trading certainty to pro- ducers with whom they have a preexisting relationship. Equilibria are characterised in Markov strategies, and it is found that price- dispersed equilibria exist in asymmetric strategies. Conditions in which a price-dispersed equilibrium can be welfare improving com- pared to a single-price equilibrium are found, and two extensions to the basic model are provided.
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Date
2008-01-01Licence
The author retains copyright of this thesisDepartment, Discipline or Centre
Discipline of EconomicsShare