We develop a theoretical framework to study illicit drugs markets, and we estimate it using data on drug purchases. Buyers are searching for high-quality drugs, but they can determine drugs’ quality (i.e., their purity) only after consuming them. Hence, sellers can rip-off first-time buyers, or can offer higher-quality drugs to induce buyers to purchase again from them. In equilibrium, a distri...

This paper considers a two-level supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and two buyers. The manufacturer produces one type of products at a finite rate and replenishes them to the buyers. Each buyer’s demand is sensitive to his selling price and the backorder is allowed at the buyers. Moreover, it is assumed that the buyers delay paying for goods to the manufacturer and two types of delay in...

A classic question faced by technology suppliers and buyers is whether to compete in the product markets or to cooperate through licensing. We address this question by examining an important, demand-side barrier to licensing—the buyers’ cost of integrating a licensed technology. We argue that this cost can be affected by suppliers’ knowledge transfer capabilities, buyers’ absorptive capacity, a...

We study revenue-maximizing allocation mechanisms for multiple heterogeneous objects when buyers care about the entire allocation, and not just about the ones they obtain. Buyers’ payoff depends on their cost parameter and, possibly, on their competitors’ costs. Costs are independently distributed across buyers, and both the buyers and the seller are risk-neutral. The formulation allows for com...

We consider marketplaces where buyers and sellers iteratively encounter to trade. Given some specific trade conditions, the question that we address is what strategies should buyers and sellers use to maximize gains. We focus on electronic markets where supply shortages are common. Under such market conditions sellers can only satisfy a subset of the purchase-orders they receive from buyers. Co...

Business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce has become an important issue in the debate about electronic commerce. How should the intermediary charge suppliers and buyers to maximize profits from such a marketplace? We analyze a monopolistic B2B marketplace owned by an independent intermediary. The marketplace exhibits two-sided network effects where the value of the marketplace to buyers is...

background: this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of topiramate, a glutamate-modulating agent, in patients with treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (ocd) as an adjunct to serotonin reuptake inhibitors (sris). materials and methods: thirty-eight patients with refractory ocd, were randomly assigned to receive topiramate or placebo. this study was designed as a 12-week, double...

We estimate a model of illicit drugs markets using data on purchases of crack cocaine. Buyers are searching for high-quality drugs, but they determine drugs' quality (i.e., their purity) only after consuming them. Hence, sellers can rip off first-time buyers or can offer higher-quality drugs to induce buyers to purchase from them again. In equilibrium, a distribution of qualities persists. The ...

In many Internet commerce applications buyers can easily achieve anonymity, limiting what a seller can learn about any buyer individually. However, because sellers need to keep a fixed web address, buyers can probe them repeatedly or pool their information about sellers with the information obtained by other buyers; hence, sellers’ strategies become public knowledge. Under assumptions of buyer ...

We explore the management of information and the response of market prices to such information. Sellers may be uncertain of dividends. We examine whether sellers anticipate buyers’ pricing behavior and whether buyers’ prices reflect correct inferences of the disclosure strategy of sellers. Buyers’ inferences and sellers’ anticipation require implicit Bayesian updating in solving for the equilib...