Economic Analysis of Market Segmentation and Third-Degree Price Discrimination

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K20156
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0107:Economics, business administration, and related fields
• Research Institution: Daito Bunka University
• Principal Investigator: Hashizume Ryo 大東文化大学, 経済学部, 助教 (60909795)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-08-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 第三種価格差別 / 独占 / 市場細分化 / ネットワーク効果

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Previous research has held that there is no incentive for monopolists to refrain from third-degree price discrimination based on market segmentation. In contrast, this study reveals that if network effects exist, the monopoly firms' profit may be strictly larger when they adopt uniform pricing than when price discrimination. Additionally, we clarifies the conditions under which monopolistic price discrimination reduces consumer surplus in all markets in the presence of network effects.

Free Research Field

産業組織論

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまでの経済理論では、可能な限り市場を細分化し、それぞれに対して異なる価格を付けることが独占企業にとっての最適な価格差別戦略であると考えられてきた。しかしながら、現実では理論が示すほどの細かな市場細分化に基づく価格差別は行われていない。本研究はこれを説明する１つの根拠を提示しており、現実の経済現象への理解を深めるものであろう。