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Colluding on Relative Prices

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  • Ralph A. Winter
Abstract
Firms sometimes agree to limit the discounts they offer a class of customers, i.e., they collude on the price differences across consumer classes. Why? Courts have struck down agreements to limit discounts as violations of the laws against price-fixing. Are these collusive agreements in fact efficient? This article addresses these questions in a multiproduct duopoly model. Under one interpretation, the incentive to collude on relative prices can be traced to heterogeneity in consumers' time costs. Under fairly general conditions, total surplus increases with the collusion. This efficiency effect is most striking in the case where collusion raises the prices faced by all consumers over which firms compete.

Suggested Citation

  • Ralph A. Winter, 1997. "Colluding on Relative Prices," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 28(2), pages 359-371, Summer.
    • Handle: RePEc:rje:randje:v:28:y:1997:i:summer:p:359-371
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    Cited by:

    1. de Palma, Andre & Lindsey, Robin, 2002. "Private roads, competition, and incentives to adopt time-based congestion tolling," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 217-241, September.
    2. Simshauser, Paul, 2018. "Price discrimination and the modes of failure in deregulated retail electricity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 54-70.
    3. Tommy Staahl Gabrielsen & Bjørn Olav Johansen & Odd Rune Straume, 2023. "National pricing with local quality competition," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 48-74, January.
    4. Aguirre Pérez, Iñaki, 2011. "Multimarket Competition and Welfare Effects of Price discrimination," IKERLANAK info:eu-repo/grantAgreeme, Universidad del País Vasco - Departamento de Fundamentos del Análisis Económico I.
    5. Janeba, Eckhard & Smart, Michael, 2003. "Is Targeted Tax Competition Less Harmful Than Its Remedies?," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(3), pages 259-280, May.
    6. Douglas Cumming & Sofia Johan, 2015. "Cameras tracking shoppers: the economics of retail video surveillance," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(2), pages 235-257, December.
    7. Wang, Judith Y.T. & Lindsey, Robin & Yang, Hai, 2011. "Nonlinear pricing on private roads with congestion and toll collection costs," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 9-40, January.
    8. Simshauser, Paul & Whish-Wilson, Patrick, 2017. "Price discrimination in Australia's retail electricity markets: An analysis of Victoria & Southeast Queensland," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 92-103.
    9. Bracaglia, Valentina & D׳Alfonso, Tiziana & Nastasi, Alberto, 2014. "Competition between multiproduct airports," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 270-281.
    10. Paul Simshauser & David Downer, 2016. "On the Inequity of Flat-rate Electricity Tariffs," The Energy Journal, , vol. 37(3), pages 199-230, July.
    11. Valentina Bracaglia & Tiziana D'Alfonso & Alberto Nastasi, 2014. "Multiproduct airport competition and e-commerce strategies," DIAG Technical Reports 2014-04, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza".
    12. Stole, Lars A., 2007. "Price Discrimination and Competition," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 34, pages 2221-2299, Elsevier.
    13. Paul W. Dobson & Michael Waterson, 2005. "Chain‐Store Pricing Across Local Markets," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 93-119, March.
    14. Ganesh Iyer & David Soberman & J. Miguel Villas-Boas, 2005. "The Targeting of Advertising," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 461-476, May.
    15. Dobson, Paul W. & Waterson, Michael, 2003. "Chain-Store Pricing for Strategic Accommodation," Economic Research Papers 269490, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    16. Greg Shaffer & Z. John Zhang, 2000. "Pay to Switch or Pay to Stay: Preference‐Based Price Discrimination in Markets with Switching Costs," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 397-424, June.
    17. repec:aeg:report:2014-4 is not listed on IDEAS

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