A Comment on Mixed Oligopoly Spatial Model : The Non-Uniform Consumer Distribution

We allow a general (non-uniform) consumer distribution in a mixed duopoly Hotelling model. We characterize respective conditions under which socially optimal pricing location are achieved. We find that, while the condition for socially optimal pricing is fairly general, that for a socially optimal location is much more restrictive. Consequently, using a public firm to regulate a market may continue to yield a socially optimal price but not the socially optimal location. This implies that privatization of the public firm may be desirable