We consider the effects of free entry on the market structure and social welfare of an asymmetric Cournot oligopoly. Even if we allow for the existence of different types of firms initially, only one type (in almost all cases) can survive in the long run. Free entry leads an economy to a...

Under Cournot oligopoly with a homogeneous product, we present a sufficient condition that guarantees the uniqueness of the welfare-maximizing number of firms to attain the global maximum level of welfare by implementation of a piecemeal policy changing the number of firms gradually. We adopt...

Though it is generally believed that increasing competition improves social welfare, we are able to show with a Shubik–Levitan demand function for differentiated goods that this is not always the case. Under Cournot and Bertrand competition, market entry increases the equilibrium total output...