In this paper we conduct a further analysis on the Brander and Eaton (1984) model of product line rivalry by examining two cases that have not been studied previously. The common feature shared by these two cases is asymmetry between firms. Specifically, we examine situations where either a) the...

We analyse a monopolist’s choice of product diversity and the effects of retailer countervailing power on that choice. We show that monopoly causes distortion in product diversity even after we take into consideration the effects of monopoly pricing. Specifically, the number of differentiated...

This paper analyzes optimal taxation in an efficiency-wage economy with involuntary unemployment, thereby extending Chamley’s (1986) optimal-tax analysis of the standard full-employment case. For this purpose, we introduce optimal savings into the shirking-unemployment model of Shapiro and...

A large number of countries have introduced successful leniency programs into their competition law enforcement to encourage colluding firms to come forward with evidence that will help detect cartels and punish price-fixers. This paper studies a feature of some of these programs that has...

A theoretical framework is constructed to derive general conditions under which increased buyer power weakens or strengthens a supplier’s incentive to innovate. These conditions are then applied to two sets of specific models: one on product innovation and the other on process innovation. The...

The objective of this paper is to investigate whether international rivalry will lead to a “race-to-the-bottom” (RTB) in labour standards. We derive the equilibrium levels of labour standards in an environment that is most conducive to a RTB, specifically the Brander and Spencer (1985) model...

We build a unique industry-level panel data set to estimate border effects with respect to U.S.-Canada trade for each year from 1992 to 2005. Estimates from data aggregated at the province/state level yield border effects in the early 1990s that increase slightly and then decline after the...

We analyze the effects of a merger between two competitors in a Bertrand-Edgeworth model. The merger has no effect on equilibrium prices if a pure strategy equilibrium prevails both before and after the merger. Otherwise, the merger leads to higher prices. In the case where a mixed strategy...

This paper challenges the conventional academic view that international outsourcing is just another form of gainful trade. Contrary to this view, we show that labor-service outsourcing can reduce the high-wage country's welfare even when product-market trade is beneficial, within a model that...

We investigate the relationship between venture capital (VC) networks and investment performance in China. Distinct features of China’s VC networks are captured in our econometric model through the inclusion of an index of network stability and a dummy variable that indicates a VC firm’s...