On an infinitely-extensible plane (with uniform customer-density) the socially-optimal configuration of firms is a regular hexagonal lattice. Will the free market necessarily produce this configuration? We argue that the currently-accepted, affirmative answer has been erroneously derived from...

Here we reproduce the table of contents and the introductory chapter to our book of related essays published by Edward Elgar. These essays deal with the important implications of allowing for the distribution of goods in characteristic space and of producers in geographic space. Although several...

The paper is divided into two parts: one-dimensional markets and two-dimensional markets. Also, we develop both one and two-dimensional models. Within each, we distinguish (a) bounded, (b) unbounded but finite, and (c) unbounded, infinite spaces. Among other things, we show: in one dimension,...

On an infinitely-extensible plane (with uniform customer-density) the socially-optimal configuration of firms is a regular hexagonal lattice. Will the free market necessarily produce this configuration? We argue that the currently-accepted, affirmative answer has been erroneously derived from...

When agents make their choices simultaneously, network effects often give rise to a selection problem involving perfectly coordinated, Pareto-optimal equilibria. We characterize this selection problem, and introduce a generalized sequential choice model to address it. In this model, we show how...

We humans engage in a lot of costuming that can often be interpreted as type communication. Uniforms are the obvious example (cops on the beat, for example, wear uniforms because they want us to know that they are cops), but there are many other examples. This paper models costuming, or image...

We explore the link between affluence and well-being using a simple general equilibrium model with a pure Veblen good. Individuals derive utility from the pure Veblen good based solely on how much they consume relative to others. In equilibrium, consumption of the pure Veblen good is the same...

In their efforts to create a position in a market, and to maintain that position, firms make positioning investments of various sorts, in R&D, plant, advertising, and location, or more generally, in product development and maintenance. The heart of this paper is the hypothesis that the success...