IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/eui/euiwps/eco99-31.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Monopolistic Competition, Multiproduct Firms and Optimum Product Diversity

Author

Listed:
  • Ottaviano, G.I.P.
  • Thisse, J.-F.

Abstract

This paper tackles the issue of optimum product diversity in an impoerfeclty competitive market with small or large firms. First, it develops a quadratic utility model of monopolistic competition with horizontal product differentiation which avoids some of the main pitfalls of the S-D-S approach. Second, it extends the model to the case of multiproduct firms showing how product diversity is affected with respect to monopolistic competition.

Suggested Citation

  • Ottaviano, G.I.P. & Thisse, J.-F., 1999. "Monopolistic Competition, Multiproduct Firms and Optimum Product Diversity," Economics Working Papers eco99/31, European University Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:eui:euiwps:eco99/31
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Spence, 1976. "Product Selection, Fixed Costs, and Monopolistic Competition," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 43(2), pages 217-235.
    2. Kiminori Matsuyama, 1995. "Complementarities and Cumulative Processes in Models of Monopolistic Competition," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(2), pages 701-729, June.
    3. Anderson, Simon P & de Palma, Andre, 1992. "Multiproduct Firms: A Nested Logit Approach," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 261-276, September.
    4. Gianmarco Ottaviano & Takatoshi Tabuchi & Jacques-François Thisse, 2021. "Agglomeration And Trade Revisited," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Firms and Workers in a Globalized World Larger Markets, Tougher Competition, chapter 3, pages 59-85, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. Asher Wolinsky, 1986. "True Monopolistic Competition as a Result of Imperfect Information," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(3), pages 493-511.
    6. Dixit, Avinash K & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1977. "Monopolistic Competition and Optimum Product Diversity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(3), pages 297-308, June.
    7. Blanchard, Olivier Jean & Kiyotaki, Nobuhiro, 1987. "Monopolistic Competition and the Effects of Aggregate Demand," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(4), pages 647-666, September.
    8. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-499, June.
    9. Oliver D. Hart, 1985. "Monopolistic Competition in the Spirit of Chamberlin: A General Model," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(4), pages 529-546.
    10. Takashi Negishi, 1961. "Monopolistic Competition and General Equilibrium," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 28(3), pages 196-201.
    11. Raymond Deneckere & Michael Rothschild, 1992. "Monopolistic Competition and Preference Diversity," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 59(2), pages 361-373.
    12. Gary-Bobo, Robert J., 1989. "Cournot-Walras and locally consistent equilibria," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 10-32, October.
    13. Gabszewicz, Jean J. & Shitovitz, Benyamin, 1992. "The core in imperfectly competitive economies," Handbook of Game Theory with Economic Applications, in: R.J. Aumann & S. Hart (ed.), Handbook of Game Theory with Economic Applications, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 15, pages 459-483, Elsevier.
    14. Benassy, Jean-Pascal, 1996. "Taste for variety and optimum production patterns in monopolistic competition," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 41-47, July.
    15. G.C. Archibald & B.C. Eaton & Richard Lipsey, 1982. "Address Models of Value Theory," Working Paper 495, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    16. Yang, Xiaokai & Heijdra, Ben J, 1993. "Monopolistic Competition and Optimum Product Diversity: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(1), pages 295-301, March.
    17. Avinash Dixit, 1979. "A Model of Duopoly Suggesting a Theory of Entry Barriers," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 20-32, Spring.
    18. Hart, Oliver D, 1985. "Monopolistic Competition in the Spirit of Chamberlin: Special Results," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 95(380), pages 889-908, December.
    19. d'Aspremont, Claude & Dos Santos Ferreira, Rodolphe & Gerard-Varet, Louis-Andre, 1996. "On the Dixit-Stiglitz Model of Monopolistic Competition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 623-629, June.
    20. Steven C. Salop, 1979. "Monopolistic Competition with Outside Goods," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 141-156, Spring.
    21. Bonanno, Giacomo, 1988. "Oligopoly Equilibria When Firms Have Local Knowledge of Demand," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 29(1), pages 45-55, February.
    22. Joseph E. Stiglitz & G. Frank Mathewson (ed.), 1986. "New Developments in the Analysis of Market Structure," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262690934, April.
    23. Dixit, Avinash K & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1993. "Monopolistic Competition and Optimum Product Diversity: Reply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(1), pages 302-304, March.
    24. Xavier Vives, 1990. "Trade Association Disclosure Rules, Incentives to Share Information, and Welfare," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 21(3), pages 409-430, Autumn.
    25. repec:bla:econom:v:41:y:1974:i:164:p:359-67 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. Etro, Federico, 2017. "Research in economics and monopolistic competition," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 645-649.
    2. Jean J. Gabszewicz & Jacques-François Thisse, 2000. "Microeconomic theories of imperfect competition," Cahiers d'Économie Politique, Programme National Persée, vol. 37(1), pages 47-99.
    3. Jacques-François Thisse & Philip Ushchev, 2018. "Monopolistic competition without apology," Chapters, in: Luis C. Corchón & Marco A. Marini (ed.), Handbook of Game Theory and Industrial Organization, Volume I, chapter 5, pages 93-136, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. BEHRENS, Kristian & MURATA, Yasusada, 2005. "General equilibrium models of monopolistic competition: CRRA versus CARA," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2005033, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    5. J. Peter Neary, 2000. "Monopolistic Competition and International Trade Theory," Working Papers 200025, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    6. Ushchev, Philip & Zenou, Yves, 2018. "Price competition in product variety networks," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 226-247.
    7. Parenti, Mathieu & Ushchev, Philip & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2017. "Toward a theory of monopolistic competition," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 86-115.
    8. Ushchev, Philip & Zenou, Yves, 2018. "Price competition in product variety networks," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 226-247.
    9. Marco Di Cintio, 2015. "Intra-Sector and Inter-Sector Competition in a Model of Growth," STUDI ECONOMICI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(116), pages 74-89.
    10. Behrens, Kristian & Murata, Yasusada, 2007. "General equilibrium models of monopolistic competition: A new approach," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 776-787, September.
    11. Pierre M. Picard & Eric Toulemonde, 2009. "On monopolistic competition and optimal product diversity: workers' rents also matter," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(4), pages 1347-1360, November.
    12. Jeffrey R. Campbell, 2011. "Competition in large markets," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(7), pages 1113-1136, November.
    13. Swati Dhingra & John Morrow, 2019. "Monopolistic Competition and Optimum Product Diversity under Firm Heterogeneity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(1), pages 196-232.
    14. Shin‐kun Peng, 2004. "Spatial Monopoly with Product Differentiation," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(3), pages 646-660, January.
    15. Ken-Ichi Shimomura & Jacques-François Thisse, 2012. "Competition among the big and the small," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 43(2), pages 329-347, June.
    16. Jaap H. Abbring & Jeffrey R. Campbell, 2003. "A Structural Empirical Model of Firm Growth, Learning, and Survival," NBER Working Papers 9712, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Fabien Candau, 2008. "Entrepreneurs' Location Choice And Public Policies: A Survey Of The New Economic Geography," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 909-952, December.
    18. Gianmarco Ottaviano & Takatoshi Tabuchi & Jacques-François Thisse, 2021. "Agglomeration And Trade Revisited," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Firms and Workers in a Globalized World Larger Markets, Tougher Competition, chapter 3, pages 59-85, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    19. Fujita, Masahisa & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2001. "Agglomération et marché," Cahiers d'Economie et de Sociologie Rurales (CESR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 58.
    20. Parenti, Mathieu & Ushchev, Philip & Thisse, Jacques-François & Kokovin, Sergey, 2017. "On the Dilution of Market Power," CEPR Discussion Papers 12367, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    COMPETITION ; MONOPOLIES ; PRODUCTION;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General
    • L40 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - General

    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:eui:euiwps:eco99/31. 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: Cécile Brière (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deiueit.html .

    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.