We examine recent claims that a particular Q-learning algorithm used by competitors 'autonomously' and systematically learns to collude, resulting in supracompetitive prices and extra profits for the firms sustained by collusive equilibria. A detailed analysis of the inner workings of this...

We consider dynamic pricing and demand learning in a duopoly, both from the perspective where the firms compete against each other and from the perspective where the firms aim to collude to increase their revenues. We adopt the widely studied multinomial logit demand model and construct a...