Monopolies Gain Unfair Advantage by Secretly Tracking Demand Data
The article explores whether it is better for a regulated natural monopoly to be integrated or separated from a competitive downstream market with uncertain demand. The researchers find that when demand information is costly to obtain, it is more beneficial to keep the monopoly separate from the downstream market. However, when the process of acquiring information is not observable, it is more advantageous to integrate the monopoly into the downstream market.