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A Competitive Equilibrium With Product Differentiation

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Abstract

This note gives a method of determining the long-run equilibrium output of a firm operating under imperfect competition that differs from standard methods of output determination and reveals properties of the equilibrium that standard methods conceal. This method requires a basic cost-effectiveness condition to hold, which leads to a highly elastic demand. If we strengthen that condition a bit, long-run equilibrium under free entry and exit becomes indistinguishable from a long-run equilibrium under perfect competition, even though products are differentiated and the condition given by Rosen for perfect competition with product differentiation fails to hold.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard L. Carson, 2004. "A Competitive Equilibrium With Product Differentiation," Carleton Economic Papers 04-18, Carleton University, Department of Economics, revised 13 Jul 2017.
    • Handle: RePEc:car:carecp:04-18
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Imperfect Competition; Substitutability; Cost Effectiveness; Firm Size; Excess Capacity.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis

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