IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/revind/v58y2021i3d10.1007_s11151-020-09775-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparing Cournot and Bertrand Equilibria in the Presence of Spatial Barriers and R&D

Author

Listed:
  • Kuang-Cheng Andy Wang

    (Chang Gung University
    Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital)

  • Yi-Jie Wang

    (Ming Chuan University)

  • Wen-Jung Liang

    (National Dong Hwa University)

Abstract

We compare the equilibria under Bertrand and Cournot competition in the spatial barbell model where spatial barriers and process R&D are involved. We show that when the market becomes more competitive by switching from Cournot to Bertrand competition, R&D investment may increase (decrease) depending upon a low (high) transport rate. Next, we find that under Cournot competition total output, consumer surplus, and welfare are higher, but profit is lower than is true for Bertrand competition, when the transport rate is high, which overturns the traditional result.

Suggested Citation

  • Kuang-Cheng Andy Wang & Yi-Jie Wang & Wen-Jung Liang, 2021. "Comparing Cournot and Bertrand Equilibria in the Presence of Spatial Barriers and R&D," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 58(3), pages 475-491, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:58:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s11151-020-09775-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11151-020-09775-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11151-020-09775-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11151-020-09775-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philippe Aghion & Nick Bloom & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt, 2005. "Competition and Innovation: an Inverted-U Relationship," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 701-728.
    2. Liang, Wen-Jung & Hwang, Hong & Mai, Chao-Cheng, 2006. "Spatial discrimination: Bertrand vs. Cournot with asymmetric demands," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 790-802, November.
    3. Nirvikar Singh & Xavier Vives, 1984. "Price and Quantity Competition in a Differentiated Duopoly," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 15(4), pages 546-554, Winter.
    4. Kenneth Arrow, 1962. "Economic Welfare and the Allocation of Resources for Invention," NBER Chapters, in: The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, pages 609-626, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Chang Ray-Yun & Hwang Hong & Peng Cheng-Hau, 2017. "Competition, Product Innovation and Licensing," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 1-14, February.
    6. Kuang-Cheng Andy Wang & Ching-Chih Tseng & Wen-Jung Liang, 2016. "Patent Licensing in the Presence of Trade Barriers," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 67(3), pages 329-347, September.
    7. Tang, Jianmin, 2006. "Competition and innovation behaviour," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 68-82, February.
    8. Lin, Ping & Saggi, Kamal, 2002. "Product differentiation, process R&D, and the nature of market competition," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 201-211, January.
    9. d'Aspremont, C & Gabszewicz, Jean Jaskold & Thisse, J-F, 1979. "On Hotelling's "Stability in Competition"," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(5), pages 1145-1150, September.
    10. Kuang-Cheng Andy Wang & Ching-Chih Tseng & Wen-Jung Liang, 2016. "Patent Licensing in the Presence of Trade Barriers," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 329-347, September.
    11. Qiu, Larry D., 1997. "On the Dynamic Efficiency of Bertrand and Cournot Equilibria," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 213-229, July.
    12. Chia-Hung Sun & Fu-Chuan Lai, 2014. "Spatial price discrimination in a symmetric barbell model: Bertrand vs. Cournot," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(1), pages 141-158, March.
    13. Hwang, Hong & Mai, Chao-cheng, 1990. "Effects of Spatial Price Discrimination on Output, Welfare, and Location," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 567-575, June.
    14. Arijit Mukherjee, 2011. "Competition, Innovation And Welfare," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 79(6), pages 1045-1057, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paul Belleflamme & Cecilia Vergari, 2011. "Incentives To Innovate In Oligopolies," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 79(1), pages 6-28, January.
    2. Tishler, Asher & Milstein, Irena, 2009. "R&D wars and the effects of innovation on the success and survivability of firms in oligopoly markets," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 519-531, July.
    3. Xavier Vives, 2008. "Innovation And Competitive Pressure," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 419-469, December.
    4. Leibowicz, Benjamin D., 2018. "Welfare improvement windows for innovation policy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 390-398.
    5. Mukherjee, Arijit & Sinha, Uday Bhanu, 2016. "Competition, foreign direct investment and welfare," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 43-45.
    6. Lacetera, Nicola & Zirulia, Lorenzo, 2012. "Individual preferences, organization, and competition in a model of R&D incentive provision," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 550-570.
    7. Chia-Hung Sun & Fu-Chuan Lai, 2014. "Spatial price discrimination in a symmetric barbell model: Bertrand vs. Cournot," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(1), pages 141-158, March.
    8. Ghosh, Arghya & Kato, Takao & Morita, Hodaka, 2017. "Incremental innovation and competitive pressure in the presence of discrete innovation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 1-14.
    9. N. Lacetera & L. Zirulia, 2008. "Knowledge Spillovers, Competition, and R&D Incentive Contracts," Working Papers 624, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    10. Ganguly, Madhuparna, 2021. "Competition and Innovation: the effects of scientist mobility and stronger patent rights," MPRA Paper 107831, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Stefano Colombo, 2016. "A Model of Three Cities," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 39(4), pages 386-416, October.
    12. Amanda De Pirro & Renaud Foucart, 2022. "Of Shrimp and Men," Working Papers 352589140, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    13. Juan Pablo Herrera Saavedra & Ginette Sofía Lozano Maturana & Jacobo Campo Robledo & Alejandra Catalina Parra Ochoa, 2019. "Competition policy and Industrial property: relationship through panel data approach 2007 – 2015," Estudios Económicos SIC 17720, Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio.
    14. Stefano Colombo, 2016. "Location choices with a non-linear demand function," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95, pages 215-226, March.
    15. Colombo, Stefano & Lambertini, Luca, 2023. "R&D investments with spillovers and endogenous horizontal differentiation," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    16. Xing, Mingqing & Tan, Tingting & Wang, Xia, 2021. "Emission taxes and environmental R&D risk choices in a duopoly market," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    17. Tammi, Timo & Saastamoinen, Jani & Reijonen, Helen, 2020. "Public procurement as a vehicle of innovation – What does the inverted-U relationship between competition and innovativeness tell us?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    18. Lee, DongJoon & Choi, Kangsik & Nariu, Tatsuhiko, 2016. "Endogenous Choice of Price or Quantity Contract with Upstream R&D Investment: Linear Pricing and Two-part Tariff Contract with Bargaining," MPRA Paper 72752, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. S. Baranzoni & P. Bianchi & L. Lambertini, 2000. "Multiproduct Firms, Product Differentiation, and Market Structure," Working Papers 368, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    20. François Jeanjean, 2021. "Impact of Technical Progress on the Relationship Between Competition and Investment," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 81-101, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bertrand competition; Cournot competition; Process R&D; Spatial barriers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R32 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Other Spatial Production and Pricing Analysis
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:revind:v:58:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s11151-020-09775-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.