Competition in remanufacturing and the effects of government subsidies

We find that the introduction of subsidies increases remanufacturing activity, and that the manufacturer's profits generally decrease while the remanufacturer's profits increase when 100% of the subsidy goes to the remanufacturer. We also find that a policy-maker should consider a subsidy scheme with some positive fraction of the subsidy paid to the manufacturer. Remanufacturing activity is generally higher and profits of both firms increase. In addition, subsidy sharing creates incentives for the manufacturer to design a product that is more suitable for remanufacturing, and to be more open to efforts to increase the return rate of end-of-life products.