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Price Coordination with Asymmetric Information Sharing: Theory and Evidence

David Byrne1; Nicolas de Roos2; Matthew S. Lewis3; Leslie M. Marx4; Xiaosong Wu5

1 Department of Economics, University of Melbourne [email protected] · 2 School of Management, University of Liverpool [email protected] · 3 John E. Walker Department of Economics, Clemson University [email protected] · 4 Fuqua School of Business, Duke University [email protected] · 5 Department of Economics, University of Melbourne [email protected]

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2025

Abstract Platform-based information sharing among competing firms presents challenges for antitrust authorities, yet effective remedies remain unclear. Drawing inspiration from the Informed Sources retail gasoline antitrust case, we develop a theoretical model that offers policy guidance for disrupting anticompetitive coordination facilitated through price-sharing platforms. Removing only one firm from a platform may be ineffective for disrupting such coordination. However, competitive benefits can emerge if (i) at least two firms lack platform access, and (ii) the costs of price leadership are sufficiently high. More broadly, coordinating price increases becomes more difficult when multiple firms cannot quickly observe or respond to rivals' prices.

DOI
10.1162/rest.a.1691
Pages
1-45
Language
en
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