Dynamic Pricing Policies: Duopoly Equilibrium and Information Acquisition

该项目研究的是 通货膨胀过程。 经济理论家们普遍认为 通货膨胀，即总价格水平的变化， 以个别价格的不连续的跳跃为特点。 这项工作 分析了将这些离散的 价格变化进入一个平滑的时间路径的总价格水平。 这种研究的基础是企业在环境中的相互作用 定价政策。 如果企业遵循相同的真实的价格周期， 设定价格，则一致的汇总是可行的。 然而，在这方面， 定价政策如此统一， 可能不会收敛到经济均衡。 具体而言，该项目采用了双寡头模型，其中需求取决于 当前的真实的价格。 每个公司都面临着一个价格路径的选择， 最大化利润现值的价格策略 时间范围 该模型的突出特点是不连续性 名义价格调整模式。 该项目的特点是， 在这种情况下，假设一个平稳变化的 物价总水平与经济均衡是一致的。 %%% 经济研究中最困难和最重要的领域之一是 价格变动、生产和定价的特征 寡头垄断市场中的企业战略。 这些市场由 定义只有几家公司占所有行业的 输出，并且在美国和国际上都非常普遍 经济 汽车制造业是寡头垄断的一个例子 市场 在这样的市场中，价格是根据以下因素之间的相互作用来确定的： 公司，每个公司的市场份额的相对大小，以及 每个公司独立于其他公司采取行动所面临的激励。 这种相互作用的结果是由个别公司制定的价格 以不连续的间隔变化而不是平稳地移动 穿越时空 然而，许多关于总量经济的研究， 特别是那些研究通货膨胀的人，假设一个连续的时间路径 价格。 本项目研究的条件下，假设一个 总价格的平滑时间路径与 个别公司独立定价，并与经济 均衡 在这样做的过程中，这项工作增加了一个基本的理论 研究总量经济和行为的基础 个别公司。

This project studies the microeconomic umderpinnings of the inflationary process. It is widely accepted among economic theorists that inflation, that is changes in the aggregate price level, is characterized by discrete jumps in individual prices. This work analyzes the theoretical feasibility of aggregating those discrete price changes into a smooth time path for an aggregate price level. Fundamental to such a study is the interaction of the firms in setting pricing policies. If firms follow identical real price cycles in setting prices, then consistent aggregation is feasible. However, there are important reasons why such uniformity in pricing policies among independent firms might not converge to an economic equilibrium. Specifically the project employs a duopoly model where demand depends on current real prices. Each firm faces a choice of a price path or price strategy which maximizes the present value of profits over a time horizon. The salient feature of the model is the discontinuous pattern of nominal price adjustments. The project characterizes those conditions under which the assumptions of a smoothly changing aggregate price level is consistent with economic equilibruim. %%% Among the most difficult and important areas of economic research is the characterization of price movements, production, and pricing strategies of firms in oligopolistic markets. Such markets by definition have only a few firms which account for all the industry's output, and are very prevalent in both the U.S. and international economy. Automobile manufacturing is an example of an oligopolistic market. In such markets prices are set based on the interaction among the firms, the relative size of each firm's market share, and the incentives faced by each firm to act independently of the others. This type of interaction results in the prices set by individual firms being changed in discrete intervals rather than moving smoothly through time. However, many studies of the aggregate economy, particularly those examining inflation, assume a continuous time path for prices. This project studies the conditions under which the assumption of a smooth time path for aggregate prices is consistent with the independent setting of prices by individual firms, and with economic equilibrium. In doing so, the work adds a fundamental theoretical basis to studies of both the aggregate economy and the behavior of individual firms.