报告人：Romain Lestage，中央财经大学管理科学与工程学院

时间：2019年10月10日（周四）下午1：30-3：00

地点：博学楼1222

报告题目：Non-controlling backward shareholding and input price discrimination

摘要：We study input price discrimination （IPD） based on non-controlling, backward shareholding and point out its differences with the other forms of third-degree price discrimination studied in the literature. We show that if downstream firms own non-controlling shares of a monopolistic input provider, the latter always discriminates against its shareholders, because backward shareholding reduces the elasticity of the derived demand for the input. Since the downstream firms that own shares of input providers set lower prices, IPD yields a positive consumption reallocation effect compared to a uniform input price. It follows that IPD based on non-controlling backward shareholding is more likely to improve welfare than the other forms of third-degree price discrimination studied in the literature, because a non-decreasing total output is a sufficient condition for welfare to increase. If the downstream firms operate in independent markets, this condition is satisfied if the curvature of the derived demand for the input decreases with backward shareholding. We also study downstream competition under linear demand systems. If the downstream firms compete in quantities, then IPD improves welfare if and only if there is a sufficient degree of product heterogeneity. If the downstream firms compete in price, then IPD always improves welfare, because it entails both a positive output and reallocation effect.

报告人简介：Dr. Romain Lestage is an assistant professor at Central University of Finance and Economics. His research interests mainly lie in applied microeconomic theory, in particular industrial organization, urban economics, and cultural economics. The main topics covered by his research are digital markets, network industries, innovation, regulation, and the economy of China and Northeast Asia. His research work has appeared in Journal of Regulatory Economics, B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, Information Economics and Policy, Telecommunications Policy, etc.

报告人主页：http://mse.cufe.edu.cn/info/1015/1368.htm