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讲座简介：
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This paper studies the emergence of middlemen (intermediation) and its consequences for welfare and redistribution. In Rubinstein and Wolinsky’s seminal model on intermediation, middlemen only create value when they have an exogenous advantage in their search speed. I show that this result depends critically on the restriction that middlemen can only carry indivisible quantities of goods. Taking into account the intensive margin of production and allowing them to carry divisible quantities, middlemen with comparatively high bargaining power can create value even when they have a disadvantage in their search cost. While the presence of middlemen can improve welfare, equilibria remain suboptimal due to search and participation externalities. I describe a multi-instrument tax-subsidy scheme that controls participation levels by producers and middlemen and restores efficiency.
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