Working papers

"Who Should Own the Past?" (with Evagelos Pafilis), 2022.  

We examine restitution of cultural goods and its optimal form, i.e. whether restitution should be definite or take the form of a loan.  We show that loan can be optimal when the source country becomes indispensable due to its cultural significance, while full restitution is optimal when the host country completes restoration.  Valuation changes can lead to restitution, but do not pin down its optimal form.  Finally, restitution is not always optimal despite source country's higher valuation for the cultural good.  We apply our analysis to the restitution of Icelandic manuscripts and the proposed loan of Benin bronzes to Nigeria.

"Price Escalation in Service Provision" (with Hans Gersbach), 2023.   

We examine Bertrand competition in price and quality of services when suppliers cannot price discriminate between different types of customers. We show that the suppliers specialize in different customer types to soften competition. The suppliers provide first-best quality but there is a continuum of equilibria in prices ranging from zero profit level up to one customer type's valuation.  A price cap can protect customers from escalating prices and select a low price equilibrium.  Introducing a public supplier is an alternative remedy to price escalation. Our analysis also suggests that banning price discrimination for fairness reasons, when it is feasible, may backfire.

Work in progress

"Climate Change and Incentives to Cooperate in Local Commons"