Local Search Markets and External Competition (19-13)

February 13 2019

Increased competition tends to benefit all buyers with increasing product variety and decreasing prices. However, if local and external market channels compete for the same class of products, increased competition from the external market crowds out local variety. Under local monopoly, local buyer surplus co-moves with external buyer surplus. Under local free entry oligopoly, buyer surplus is U-shaped. If buyer surplus in the external market is low, local surplus is better provided by local oligopoly, but moves against external surplus; if it is high, local and external surplus co-move, and local surplus is better provided by local monopoly.

Latest News

Economic Workshop on the Dynamic Effects of Mergers

1 September 2026

Friday, 11 September 2026 | 08:30–13:30, followed by lunchSolvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Université libre de Bruxelles ECARES and the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management are pleased to host an economic workshop dedicated to “The Dynamic Effects of Mergers”, organised in connection with the Economic Study prepared by Oxera for the …

See more details

Paula Gobbi receives the 2026 EEA Role Models in Economics Award

24 July 2026

Congratulations to Professor Paula Gobbi, Director of ECARES, who has received the prestigious 2026 EEA Role Models in Economics Award from the European Economic Association.

See more details

🎧 Podcast – Energy dependence: how to get out of it, and at what cost?

27 April 2026

Our colleague Estelle Cantillon participates in this L’Echo podcast episode (in French) dedicated to energy dependence in Europe and the broader challenges of the energy transition. The discussion examines the economic, institutional, and policy dimensions of reducing energy dependence, as well as the trade-offs involved in terms of costs and public policy choices. Listen to …

See more details
See more news