Insider's Dilemma: a General Solution in a Repeated Game
				Cesi BerardinoFerrarese Walter			
		
				CEIS Research Paper
		
				We show that in an infinitely repeated Cournot game when firms adopt stick and carrot strategies exogenous horizontal mergers are profitable regardless the size of the merged entity. We characterize an equilibrium in which the new entity maximizes its discounted intertemporal profit under the constraint that each outsider produces just enough to be better off after the merger. Once the merger has occurred each insider gains more than each outsider, therefore the insider's dilemma is completely solved.
		
				
		
	Number: 350
		
				Keywords: Insider's dilemma, horizontal mergers, repeated games, stick and carrot strategy
		
				JEL codes: L110,L120
		
				Volume: 13
		
				Issue: 7
		
				Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2015
		
				Revision Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2015