IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/fem/femwpa/2026.11.html

Monopolistic competition under horizontal and vertical differentiation

Author

Listed:
  • Sergei Kichko

    (Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento and CESifo)

  • Marco A. Marini

    (Department of Social and Economic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome)

  • Riccardo D. Saulle

    (Department of Economics and Management, University of Padova)

  • Jacques-Francois Thisse

    (CORE-UCLouvain and CEPR)

Abstract

This paper extends the CES model of monopolistic competition to the case where varieties are both horizontally and vertically differentiated. A distinctive feature of our model is the presence of a network externality, which operates through the number of varieties available at each quality level. Depending on the quality gap, there are corner equilibria in which consumers purchase only high-quality or low-quality varieties, or an interior equilibrium in which consumers are split between the two qualities. Unlike the CES model of monopolistic competition, the equilibrium is never efficient and the market may even select the outcome with the lowest surplus.

Suggested Citation

  • Sergei Kichko & Marco A. Marini & Riccardo D. Saulle & Jacques-Francois Thisse, 2026. "Monopolistic competition under horizontal and vertical differentiation," Working Papers 2026.11, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    • Handle: RePEc:fem:femwpa:2026.11
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://feem-media.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/NDL2026-11.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Motta, Massimo, 1993. "Endogenous Quality Choice: Price vs. Quantity Competition," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 113-131, June.
    2. 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.
    3. Mussa, Michael & Rosen, Sherwin, 1978. "Monopoly and product quality," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 301-317, August.
    4. Degryse, Hans, 1996. "On the Interaction between Vertical and Horizontal Product Differentiation: An Application to Banking," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(2), pages 169-186, June.
    5. Farrell, Joseph & Klemperer, Paul, 2007. "Coordination and Lock-In: Competition with Switching Costs and Network Effects," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 31, pages 1967-2072, Elsevier.
    6. Ortiz-Ospina Esteban, 2017. "Monopolistic Competition and Exclusive Quality," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 17(2), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Crampes, Claude & Hollander, Abraham, 1995. "Duopoly and quality standards," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 71-82, January.
    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. Romer, Paul M, 1990. "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 71-102, October.
    10. Steven Berry & Joel Waldfogel, 2010. "Product Quality And Market Size," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 1-31, March.
    11. Hendrik Döpper & Alexander MacKay & Nathan H. Miller & Joel Stiebale, 2025. "Rising Markups and the Role of Consumer Preferences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 133(8), pages 2462-2505.
    12. Schmalensee, Richard, 1972. "A Note on Monopolistic Competition and Excess Capacity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(3), pages 586-591, May-June.
    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. Yang, Yong, 2012. "Agglomeration density and tourism development in China: An empirical research based on dynamic panel data model," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1347-1359.
    2. José A. Novo‐Peteiro, 2023. "Product design with attribute dependence," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 91(4), pages 361-385, July.
    3. Ottaviano, Gianmarco & Thisse, Jacques-François, 1999. "Monopolistic Competition, Multiproduct Firms and Optimum Product Diversity," CEPR Discussion Papers 2151, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    4. Ya‐chin Wang & Leonard F.s. Wang, 2009. "Equivalence Of Competition Mode In A Vertically Differentiated Duopoly With Delegation," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 77(4), pages 577-590, December.
    5. Fabio Cerina & Francesco Pigliaru, 2007. "Agglomeration and Growth in the NEG: A Critical Assessment," Chapters, in: Bernard Fingleton (ed.), New Directions in Economic Geography, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. L. Lambertini & A. Tampieri, 2012. "On the Emergence of Overcompliance with Endogenous Environmental Standards and Patronising Consumers," Working Papers wp847, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    7. Olivier Bonroy, 2006. "Le standard de qualité minimale est-il un instrument socialement optimal ?. Une revue de littérature," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 57(1), pages 35-53.
    8. Cerina, Fabio & Mureddu, Francesco, 2014. "Is agglomeration really good for growth? Global efficiency, interregional equity and uneven growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 9-22.
    9. Mario Pezzino, 2010. "Hospital competition when patients have different willingness to pay for quality," Economics Discussion Paper Series 1014, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    10. Brekke, Kurt R. & Siciliani, Luigi & Straume, Odd Rune, 2010. "Price and quality in spatial competition," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 471-480, November.
    11. Theresa Grafeneder-Weissteiner, 2010. "Demographic change, growth and agglomeration," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp132, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    12. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2015. "Wissensintensive Unternehmensdienste, Wissens-Spillovers und regionales Wachstum. Teilprojekt 1: Wissens-Spillovers und regionale Entwicklung – Welche strukturpolitische Ausrichtung optimiert das Wachstum?," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58342.
    13. Gunther Maier & Patrick Lehner, 2002. "Does space finally matter? The position of New Economic Geography in Economic Journals," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2002(1).
    14. Fafchamps, Marcel, 1997. "Mobile Capital, Local Externalities, and Industrialization," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 345-365, December.
    15. Bae, Sang Hoo & Sarkis, Joseph & Yoo, Chung Sik, 2011. "Greening transportation fleets: Insights from a two-stage game theoretic model," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 793-807.
    16. Satyaki Roy, 2012. "Spatial Organization Of Production In India: Contesting Themes And Conflicting Evidence," Journal of Regional Development and Planning, Rajarshi Majumder, vol. 1(1), pages 1-16.
    17. Charlie Karlsson & Gunther Maier & Michaela Trippl & Iulia Siedschlag & Gavin Murphy, 2010. "ICT and Regional Economic Dynamics: A Literature Review," JRC Research Reports JRC59920, Joint Research Centre.
    18. Stéphane Riou, 2003. "How growth and location are sensitive to transport and telecommunication infrastructures ?," Recherches économiques de Louvain, De Boeck Université, vol. 69(3), pages 241-265.
    19. J. Peter Neary, 2000. "Monopolistic competition and international trade theory," Working Papers 200025, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    20. Theresa Grafeneder-Weissteiner, 2011. "The joint effect of demographic change on growth and agglomeration," ERSA conference papers ersa10p834, European Regional Science Association.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D42 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Monopoly
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L12 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:fem:femwpa:2026.11. 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: Alberto Prina Cerai The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask Alberto Prina Cerai to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feemmit.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.