Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

 

Price Competition, Innovation and Search in Durable-goods Markets Public Deposited

https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/vx021f12n
Abstract
  • This dissertation studies competition, innovation, and search in durable-goods markets. Specifically, it investigates three questions: First, how does counterfeit competition affect a branded firms profit and social welfare in a durable-goods market? Second, how does an imitators entry impact the durable-goods producers R&D; decision when consumers care about social status? And third, how are firms' profits affected by their positions when consumers search for a durable good sequentially? The second chapter explores why deceptive counterfeit competition may increase a branded firm's profit and total welfare. The reason is that counterfeits enable the branded firm to maintain a high price, which alleviates the time-inconsistency problem of a durable goods monopolist. The third chapter shows that, for conspicuous goods of durable nature, entry of imitators may increase the incumbent's R&D; incentive. The result provides a theoretical justification for the weak protection of intellectual property in the fashion industry. The fourth chapter finds that when ex-ante heterogeneous consumers search for a durable good sequentially, a less prominent firm may earn a higher profit, because search cost enables the firm to cherry-pick high-value customers and commit to a high price.
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  • 2015
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  • 2019-11-16
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