TY - BOOK
T1 - Why Shops Close Again
T2 - An Evolutionary Perspective on the Deregulation of Shopping Hours
AU - Kosfeld, M.
N1 - Pagination: 16
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - This paper introduces a new perspective on the deregulation of shopping hours based on ideas from evolutionary game theory. We study a retail economy where shopping hours have been deregulated recently. It is argued that first, the deregulation leads to a coordination problem between store owners and customer, and second, the `solution' to this problem depends on the specific cost structure of stores and the preferences of customers. In particular, it may happen that, even if it is profitable for both to keep stores open at night, they do not succeed in coordinating on this equilibrium. The analysis explains the observation in Germany, where shopping hours have been deregulated recently, that store owners tend to go back to the former shopping hours again. Moreover, it emphasizes the important role of advertisement campaigns as a signalling device.
AB - This paper introduces a new perspective on the deregulation of shopping hours based on ideas from evolutionary game theory. We study a retail economy where shopping hours have been deregulated recently. It is argued that first, the deregulation leads to a coordination problem between store owners and customer, and second, the `solution' to this problem depends on the specific cost structure of stores and the preferences of customers. In particular, it may happen that, even if it is profitable for both to keep stores open at night, they do not succeed in coordinating on this equilibrium. The analysis explains the observation in Germany, where shopping hours have been deregulated recently, that store owners tend to go back to the former shopping hours again. Moreover, it emphasizes the important role of advertisement campaigns as a signalling device.
KW - shopping
KW - noncooperative games
KW - equilibrium theory
KW - deregulations
M3 - Report
VL - 776
T3 - FEW Research Memorandum
BT - Why Shops Close Again
PB - Microeconomics
CY - Tilburg
ER -