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Article
A Note on the Inefficiency of Competitive Markets For Quality Goods
Economic Staff Paper Series
  • John R. Schroeter, Iowa State U
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
5-1-1993
Number
249
Abstract
This note describes and investigates an equilibrium model of a service market in which customers search among many firms for ones offering acceptable combinations of money price and expected waiting time. Although neither firms nor customers possess market power, the noncooperative equilibrium of the model is inefficient: Forcing customers to be more selective in their choices of suppliers can produce Pareto improvements in welfare. This result is due to an externality, in queue accession decisions, which others have identified in related contexts..
Citation Information
John R. Schroeter. "A Note on the Inefficiency of Competitive Markets For Quality Goods" (1993)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/john-schroeter/6/