Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/92481 
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
CSIO Working Paper No. 0107
Publisher: 
Northwestern University, Center for the Study of Industrial Organization (CSIO), Evanston, IL
Abstract: 
Empirically studying dynamic competition in oligopoly markets requires dealing with large states spaces and tackling difficult computational problems, while handling heterogeneity and multiple equilibria. In this paper, we discuss some of the ways recent work in Industrial Organization has dealt with these challenges. We illustrate problems and proposed solutions using as examples recent work on dynamic demand for differentiated products and on dynamic games of oligopoly competition. Our discussion of dynamic demand focuses on models for storable and durable goods and surveys how researchers have used the inclusive value to deal with dimensionality problems and reduce the computational burden. We clarify the assumptions needed for this approach to work, the implications for the treatment of heterogeneity and the different ways it has been used. In our discussion of the econometrics of dynamics games of oligopoly competition, we deal with challenges related to estimation and counterfactual experiments in models with multiple equilibria. We also examine methods for the estimation of models with persistent unobserved heterogeneity in product characteristics, firms' costs, or local market profitability. Finally, we discuss different approaches to deal with large state spaces in dynamic games.
Subjects: 
Industrial Organization
Oligopoly competition
Dynamic demand
Dynamic games
Estimation
Counterfactual experiments
Multiple equilibria
Inclusive values
Unobserved heterogeneity
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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