Diferenciación de productos y poder de mercado

Germán Coloma, Universidad del Centro de Estudios Macroeconómicos de Argentina

Abstract

This paper presents a model of market power analysis in a context of symmetric product differentiation. Each variety possesses a homogeneous and a heterogeneous component, that consumers value separately. According to the way in which firms exercise their influence on prices, four behavioral hypotheses are defined (pure price-taking, monopolistic competition, Cournot oligopoly and collusion). Each of them implies a different level of global and local market power, whose relative efficiency is assessed. Conclusions are later extended to contexts where firms become infinitesimal, and the number of varieties is either finite or infinite.