Question

Using a payoff matrix to determine the equilibrium outcome Suppose there are only two firms that sell Blu-ray players: Movietonia and Videotech. The following payoff matrix shows the profit (in millions of dollars) each company will earn, depending on whether it sets a high or low price for its players.

Videotech Pricing
High Low
Movietonia Pricing High 11, 11 2, 15
Low 15, 2 8, 8
For example, the lower-left cell shows that if Movietonia prices low and Videotech prices high, Movietonia will earn a profit of $15 million and Videotech will earn a profit of $3 million. Assume this is a simultaneous game and that Movietonia and Videotech are both profit-maximizing firms.
1. If the firms do not collude, what strategies will they end up choosing?
2. The game between Movietonia and Videotech is an example of the prisoners' dilemma.
a. true
b. false

Answer 1

pricing low

yes

Step-by-step explanation:

Game theory looks at the interactions between participants in a competitive game and calculates the best choice for the player.

Dominant strategy is the best option for a player regardless of what the other player is playing.

Nash equilibrium is the best outcome for players where no player has an incentive to change their decisions.

if either firm charges high, they either earn 11 million or 2 million.

if either firm charges low, it would earn either 15 million or 8 million.

because the payoffs of charging low is higher than the payoffs of charging high, the best strategy is for the firms to charge low if there is no cooperation.

the game is a prisoners dilemma because the choice the firms make isn't the choice that will yield the highest payoffs. the choice that would yield the highest payoffs is to both charge high prices.