平台不平衡价格结构的剥削性滥用效应

The Exploitative Abuse of Imbalanced Price Structure by Platform

不平衡价格结构是平台的独特定价方式,如何评价其社会福利效应是平台经济学和反垄断政策悬而未决的问题。本文对平台利润最大化价格结构的分析显示,不平衡价格结构既包含了反映经济效率的逆弹性定价规则和交叉网络效应贡献,同时也包含了平台市场势力。因此,平台不平衡价格结构是福利非中性的,其有可能成为一种剥削性滥用行为。不平衡价格结构的反垄断审查需要考虑对平台所有用户的影响,综合考虑价格水平和价格结构的变化,并重点分析交叉网络效应的影响,不应错误地采用价格-成本分析法。

The unbalanced price structure is the unique pricing method of the platform,and how to evaluate its social welfare effect is an open question in platform economics and antimonopoly policies.Focusing on the welfare effects of platform profit maximization pricing,it is shown that the imbalanced price structure contains not only the inverse elastic pricing rules and crossside network effect reflecting economic efficiency,but also the market power of the platform.Therefore,the welfare of imbalanced price structure is nonneutral,which may become an exploitative abuse.The antimonopoly review should assess the effect on all users of the platform,comprehensively consider the changes of price level and price structure,and pay much attention on the crossside network effect,while the pricecost analysis should not be used wrongly.