Note on the Open-Loop von Stackelberg Equilibrium in the Cartel versus Fringe Model.

One of the ways to model the supply side of the world oil market is by means of the cartel versus fringe model and to employ the open-loop von Stackelberg equilibrium concept. This note shows that the equilibrium as presented in the literature does not satisfy the optimality conditions for the open-loop equilibrium. The authors show, furthermore, that in contrast with the prevailing view, the equilibrium can display discontinuous price trajectories. Copyright 1992 by Royal Economic Society.