
doi: 10.2139/ssrn.1553867
This paper proposes a model of oligopolistic competition where several firms sell differentiated experience goods. Firms invest in quality and consumers observe their idiosyncratic valuations for products with noise. Both equilibrium price and quality rise with more precise information. Quality improves because with more precise signals consumers put larger weight on them when estimating their valuation, which encourages investment in quality. Price goes up because with better information firms are perceived to be more differentiated. Total welfare always goes up with information precision, but consumer surplus and profits may got up or down. Prices and qualities also go up in the degree of product differentiation. We show that variety and quality are inversely related, so firm entry may decrease consumer welfare by reducing average quality in the market. Other comparative statics results are explored.
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