Spatial Monopoly with Product Differentiation.

Most theoretical work on the behavior of spatial monopoly focuses on the single-product case, while, in reality, a firm usually produces (or sells) many differentiated products. In this paper, I introduce a new model of spatial monopoly with a multiple-product firm where the firm chooses both the me...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Southern Economic Journal Vol. 70; no. 3; pp. 646 - 661
Autor principal: Peng, Shin-kun
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Southern Economic Association January 2004
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Most theoretical work on the behavior of spatial monopoly focuses on the single-product case, while, in reality, a firm usually produces (or sells) many differentiated products. In this paper, I introduce a new model of spatial monopoly with a multiple-product firm where the firm chooses both the measure of product varieties and the price of each variety to maximize its profit. I also examine the monopolist's optimal decision and its economic effects on the spatial economy with a fixed and variable market fringe, respectively. For a class of preferences to product differentiation, I find that both the quantities produced and the consumer surpluses vary across three different spatial pricing policies. This finding is in contrast to the literature on a single-product spatial monopoly where those results are invariant across different pricing policies. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.