Public research seminar. A report by Natalia Shestakova

On June 10, 2013, CMSSE was held the public research seminar. Report on the theme "Enhancing Competition in Regional Markets by Reducing Firms' Heterogeneity in Costs" by Natalia Shestakova (Research Fellow at Laboratory for International and Regional Economics, GSEM, Ural Federal University; Assistant Professor at Department of Economics, University of Vienna).

N.Shestakova

On June 10, 2013.
Public research seminar.
Natalia Shestakova (Research Fellow at Laboratory for International and Regional Economics, GSEM, Ural Federal University; Assistant Professor at Department of Economics, University of Vienna). "Enhancing Competition in Regional Markets by Reducing Firms' Heterogeneity in Costs".

We use a lab experiment to study whether a specific government regulation can promote competition in regional markets. The question is motivated with an empirical observation that local monopolies are widespread, i.e. firms successfully coordinate on which markets to enter. We hypothesize that firms' heterogeneity in costs serve as a coordination design in the underlying entry game. If this is the case, then reducing such a heterogeneity would lead to more competition. A lab experiment is explicitly designed to test this.

The address of the seminar: Conference-hall (3rd floor), b. 47, pr. Rimskogo-Korsakova, Saint Petersburg.

Working language – Russian.