Skip to main content
Log in

Is the Leading Role Desirable?: A Simulation Analysis of the Stackelberg Behavior in World Petroleum Market

  • Published:
Computational Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article explores extraction profiles in the Stackelberg equilibrium of exhaustible resource industry. Calibrated with real data of world petroleum market, the Stackelberg and Cournot–Nash equilibriums are solved numerically. The properties of the Stackelberg equilibrium are compared and contrasted with the benchmark open-loop Cournot–Nash equilibrium. Simulation results indicate that the leader’s gains are limited in the Stackelberg strategic setting. Methodologically, this article pioneers solving the Stackelberg game numerically in a dynamic and empirical model.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adelman M. (1993) The economics of petroleum supply. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Adelman M. (1995) Genie out of the bottle. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Benchekroun H., Halsema A., Withagen C. (2009) On nonrenewable resource oligopolies: The asymmetric case. Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control 33: 1867–1879

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooke A., Kendrick D., Meeraus A., Raman R. (2004) GAMS: A user’s guide. GAMS Development Corporation, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Conrad J., Clark C. (1987) Natural resource economics: Notes and problems. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dasgupta P., Heal G. (1979) Economic theory and exhaustible resources. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Energy Information Administration (EIA). (2010). http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/info_glance/petroleum.html.

  • Groot F., Wicergan C., de Zeeuw A. (2000) Open-loop von Stackelberg equilibrium in the cartel-vs.-fringe model. Energy Economics 22: 209–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groot F., Wicergan C., de Zeeuw A. (2003) Strong time-consistency in the cartel-versus-fringe model. Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control 28: 287–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton J. H., Slutsky S. M. (1990) Endogenous timing in duopoly games: Stackelberg or Cournot equilibria. Games and Economic Behavior 2: 29–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartwick J. (1989) Non-renewable resources: Extraction programs and markets. Harwood Academic, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis T. R., Schmalensee R. (1980a) On oligopolistic markets for non-renewable natural resources. Quarterly Journal of Economics 95: 475–491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis T. R., Schmalensee R. (1980b) “Cartel and oligopoly pricing of non-replenishable natural resources”. In: Liu P. T. (ed) Dynamic optimization and applications to economics. Plenum Press, New York, pp 133–156

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Matsumura T. (2002) Market instability in a Stackelberg duopoly. Journal of Economics 75(3): 199–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newbery D. (1981) Oil prices, cartels and the problem of dynamic inconsistency. Economic Journal 91: 617–646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OPEC. (2010a). http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/.

  • OPEC. (2010b). World Oil Outlook 2009. http://www.opec.org/opec_web/static_files_project/media/downloads/publications/WOO%202009.pdf.

  • Pindyck R. S. (1978) Gains to producers from cartelization of exhaustible resources. Review of Economics and Statistics 60: 238–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polasky S. (1992) Do oil producers act as ‘Oil’igopolists?. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 23: 216–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salant W. S. (1976) Exhaustible resources and industrial structure: A Nash-Cournot approach to the world oil market. Journal of Political Economy 84: 1079–1093

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulph A. M., Folie G. M. (1980) Exhaustible resources and cartels: An intertemporal Nash-Cournot model. Canadian Journal of Economics 13: 645–658

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Ploeg F. (1987) Inefficiency of credible strategies in oligopolistic resource markets with uncertainty. Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control 11: 123–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Stengel B. (2010) Follower payoffs in symmetric duopoly games. Games and Economic Behavior 69: 512–516

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang Z. (2008) How does ANWR exploration affect OPEC behavior? A simulative study of an open-loop Cournot–Nash game. Energy Economics 30(2): 321–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zili Yang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yang, Z. Is the Leading Role Desirable?: A Simulation Analysis of the Stackelberg Behavior in World Petroleum Market. Comput Econ 42, 133–150 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10614-012-9335-x

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10614-012-9335-x

Keywords

JEL Classification

Navigation