This paper argues that the balance of power between producers and retailers depends on the relative degrees of differentiation at the two levels of the vertical structure. We propose an extension of Hotelling's model in which two producers, competing in prices with horizontally differentiated...

When health plans compete under adverse selection, the competitive equilibrium set of contracts is unique. However, the allocation of these contracts among health plans is undetermined. We show that three health plans suffice to sustain an equilibrium where each health plan offers a single...

This paper studies the investment decision by a monopolistic internet service provider (ISP) in different regulatory environments. We consider that the ISP could technically provide separate quality upgrades to two vertically differentiated content providers (CPs); therefore, it could...

This paper discusses competition between high-quality private service providers that maximize their own profits and a low-quality public service provider that maximizes social surplus. There are two heterogeneous consumer groups: those who demand only high-quality services and those who care...

When consumers differ in their attitude towards risk, price competition between products of uncertain characteristics may be analyzed using address-models of product differentiation. These models provide a natural set-up for analyzing industries in which products of different reliability may...

This paper characterizes price competition between an expert and a non-expert. In contrast with the expert, the non-expert’s repair technology is not always successful. Consumers visit the expert after experiencing an unsuccessful match at the non-expert. This re-entry affects the behaviour of...