Abstract This paper studies an intermediated market operated by middlemen with high inventory holdings. I present a directed search model in which middlemen are less likely to experience a stockout because they have the advantage of inventory capacity, relative to other sellers. The model explains why the empirical relationship between middlemen’s premium and their inventory capacity can be positive in some markets (e. g., rental video shops, used-car dealers) and negative in other markets (e. g., supermarkets, theater ticket offices). I also examine the implication of the configuration of middlemen’s market in terms of the size and the number of middlemen for the equilibrium premium with and without free entry.

中文翻译：

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中间人：一种定向搜索均衡方法

摘要本文研究了由持有大量库存的中间商经营的中间市场。我提出了一种定向搜索模型，在这种模型中，中间商相对于其他卖方而言，由于具有存货容量的优势，因此没有库存的可能性。该模型解释了为什么中间商的佣金与其存货能力之间的经验关系在某些市场（例如，租赁录像店，二手车经销商）中可能为正，而在其他市场（例如，超市，剧院售票处）中为负。我还研究了中间商市场配置的含义，即在有或没有自由进入的情况下，中间商的均衡溢价的规模和数量。