Question

Two companies share a market, in which they currently make $5,000,000 each. Both need to determine whether they should advertise. For each company advertising costs $2,000,000 and captures $3,000,000 from the competitor provided the competitor doesn't advertise. What should the companies do? Analyze this simultaneous game, discuss outcomes and equilibrium. SHOW WORK. EXPLAIN.

Answer 1

Answer: Please refer to Explanation.

Explanation:

Two Companies. We shall call them A and B.

If A and B decide not to advertise, they both get $5,000,000.

If A advertises and B does not then A captures $3 million from B at a cost of $2 million meaning their payoff would be,

= 5 million - 2 million + 3 million

= $6 million.

A will have $6 million and B will have $2 million as $3 million was captured from them. This scenario holds true if B is the one that advertises and A does not.

If both of them Advertise, they both reduce their gains by $2 million while capturing $3 million from each other so they'll essentially both have just $3 million if they both decide to advertise.

With the above scenarios, it is better for both companies to ADVERTISE if there is NO COLLUSION. This is because it ensures that they do not get the lowest payoff of $2 million if the other company decides to advertise and they do not.

However, if they DO COLLUDE. They must both decide that NONE of them SHOULD ADVERTISE and this would leave them with their original $5 million each which is a higher payoff than the $3 million they will both receive if they were both advertising.