Suchergebnisse

"In principle, a multiproduct firm can set separate prices for all possible bundled combinations of its products (i.e., "mixed bundling"). However, this is impractical for firms with more than a few products, because the number of prices increases exponentially with the number of products. In this study we show that simple pricing strategies are often nearly optimal -- i.e., with surprisingly few prices a firm can obtain 99% of the profit that would be earned by mixed bundling. Specifically, we show that bundle-size pricing -- setting prices that depend only on the size of bundle purchased -- tends to be more profitable than offering the individual products priced separately, and tends to closely approximate the profits from mixed bundling. These findings are based on an array of numerical experiments covering a broad range of demand and cost scenarios, as well as an empirical analysis of the pricing problem for an 8-product firm (a theater company)"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site

We study the market for ratings agencies in the commercial mortgage backed securities sector leading up to and including the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Using a structural model adapted from the auctions literature, we characterize the incentives of ratings agencies to distort ratings in favor of issuers. We find an important equilibrium distortion, which decreased after the crisis. We study several counterfactual experiments motivated by recent policymaking in this industry. (JEL D44, G01, G24)

Multiproduct firms can set separate prices for all possible bundled combinations of its products ("mixed bundling"). However, this is impractical for firms with more than a few products, because the number of prices increases exponentially with the number of products. We find that simple pricing strategies are often nearly optimal. Specifically, we show that bundle-size pricing—setting prices that depend only on the size of bundle purchased—tends to be more profitable than offering the individual products priced separately and tends to closely approximate the profits from mixed bundling. (JEL D24, D42, L11, L13, L25).