arXiv:2605.16064v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We study whether simple algorithmic pricing systems can systematically produce collusive-like prices in multi-firm markets. We consider firms that price using a myopic estimate-then-optimize rule: each repeatedly fits a demand model to its own price and sales history and sets the price that maximizes estimated profit. This demand model is misspecified, omitting competitors' prices. We analyze the dynamics of this rule when it is initialized by an exploration phase of independent random prices. We characterize when this pipeline converge
Source: arXiv cs.AI — read the full report at the original publisher.