Trade Discount Policies in the Differential Games Framework

We consider a vertical control distribution channel in which a manufacturer sells a single kind of good to a retailer. We assume that a wholesale price discount increases the retailer's sale motivation thus improving sales. The optimal control of manufacturer's profit via trade discounts is embedded in a differential game framework; in the special case of constant controls we compare the Stackelberg equilibria obtained considering manufacturer and retailer respectively as leaders of the game with Nash equilibrium points.