Selection of Boundedly Rational Firms and the Allocation of Resources

29 Pages Posted: 29 Dec 2006

See all articles by Gilles Saint-Paul

Gilles Saint-Paul

University of Toulouse I - GREMAQ-IDEI; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: November 2006

Abstract

I study how savers allocate funds between boundedly rational firms which follow simple pricing rules. Firms need cash to pay their inputs in advance, and savers-shareholders allocate cash between them so as to maximize their rate of return. When the rate of return on each firm is observed, there are multiple equilibria, and some degree of monopoly power is sustained. However, the economy gets close to the Walrasian equilibrium when the availability of funds goes to infinity. Multiple equilibria also arise when there are 'entrants' with unobservable rates of return. In an equilibrium where entrants are not funded, savers invest in incumbents because those entrants which will divert customers from incumbents are likely to be excess underpricers.

Keywords: Selection, evolution, credit allocation, winner's curse, bounded rationality

JEL Classification: D4, D5, Z19

Suggested Citation

Saint-Paul, Gilles, Selection of Boundedly Rational Firms and the Allocation of Resources (November 2006). CEPR Discussion Paper No. 5928, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=954167

Gilles Saint-Paul (Contact Author)

University of Toulouse I - GREMAQ-IDEI ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

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Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
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Germany

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