CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2008
| Author | Poliakova, Kristina |
|---|---|
| Title | Asymmetric Duopoly with Product Differentiation: A Case of Retail Chain Concentration in Slovakia |
| Summary | Recently, between the years 2005 and 2007, the merger between the undertakings Tesco and Carrefour was investigated by the Slovak Antimonopoly Office. Eventually, the merger was prohibited. Later, the Carrefour hypermarkets were purchased by a new owner in 2008. Therefore the question arises: What were the reasons for the hypermarket chain Carrefour to leave the market in Slovakia? In order to answer the question, I study the effects of asymmetry in a duopoly with differentiated products. The model analyzed is based on the model of Symmetric Duopoly with Differentiated Products (Shubik and Levitan, 1980). I then apply the theoretical results to analyze the case of Tesco and Carrefour in Slovakia. There are two important findings which explain the Tesco-Carrefour case and answer the research question. First, the profitability of Carrefour might have been very low due to the high level of substitutability between the goods in duopoly. This is shown in the analysis of the model on the variable – the profitability measure. Second, the ban on the merger according to the model is justified, since the merger would result in detrimental effects on the consumer’s welfare. |
| Supervisor | Baniak, Andrzej |
| Department | Economics MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2008/poliakova_kristina.pdf |
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