THE CHOICE OF CAPACITY IN MIXED DUOPOLY UNDER DEMAND UNCERTAINTY

We analyze the capacity choice of firms under demand uncertainty in a mixed duopoly market consisting of one private firm and one public firm. We define a two-stage game where firms choose capacity in the first stage without knowing which state of Nature is going to be realized, and output in the second stage knowing which state is realized. We address the question of maintaining over and under capacity in the equilibrium as a strategic device; and show that both symmetric and asymmetric outcomes can be realized. Copyright � 2006 The Authors; Journal compilation � Blackwell Publishing Ltd and The University of Manchester 2006.

MIXED OLIGOPOLY IN A SINGLE INTERNATIONAL MARKET *

This paper departs from previous literature by considering a mixed oligopoly with two countries each with public and private firms competing in a single market. This differs from the traditional framework of examining a single domestic market in which foreign and domestic firms compete and is motivated, in part, by international airline markets but serves to characterise many markets. The resulting equilibrium emphasises that the strategic interaction of the two public firms usually serves to reduce welfare. Thus, the usual reason to imagine a public firm in a mixed oligopoly, to enhance welfare, is lost when such firms compete in the interest of their respective countries. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd/University of Adelaide and Flinders University 2006..