We address the question in the title using survey-based measures of financial constraints, as opposed to the proxies typically used in the literature. We find that in our dataset of Italian firms, those declaring to be financially constrained are smaller and younger than the others. However, the...

One of the objectives of the reforms and liberalization of the last 15 years in local public services was to reduce the traditional fragmentation of production. This was to be achieved through restructuring that reduced inefficiencies and made it more possible to exploit economies of scale,...

A very striking change in product selection over the last century has been the increased degree of specialisation of durable goods. To analyse these changes this paper introduces a new form of product differentiation called functional. It is shown that when a homogeneous population demands...

This paper analyses the implications of the EU ETS for the power sector, notably the impact of free allocation of CO2 emission allowances on the price of electricity and the profitability of power generation. Besides some theoretical reflections, the paper presents empirical and model estimates...

This paper examines generators’ incentives to exercise market power and the strategies they would follow if all electricity supplies were traded in an hourly-unregulated spot market. The industry is modelled as a Cournot duopoly with a competitive fringe; particular care is given to the hydro...

In this paper we discuss cost and profit efficiency for a sample of financial institutions on the Colombian financial market in the period 1989-2003, using stochastic frontier efficiency analysis. During the period, the cost efficient frontier deteriorates, but profit efficient frontier is...

Este trabajo examina los efectos de las fusiones en el sistema ban- cario sobre la eficiencia del sistema y los precios. Se encuentra que los bancos que han atravesado procesos de fusiones pueden experimentar mejoras en los indices de eficiencia en beneficios. Estas mejoras en eficiencia fueron...

In the Hotelling framework, the equilibrium first-degree discriminatory prices are all lower than the equilibrium uniform price. When firms’ locations are fixed, price discrimination emerges as the unique equilibrium in a game in which every firm may commit not to discriminate before setting...

This paper considers the impact of popularity on duopolists’ entry strategies into an emerging industry, where each consumer holds a preference for one of two competing brands. Brand popularity is influenced by word of mouth communication, as early adopters recommend the brand they have bought...

This discussion paper resulted in a publication in <I>European Economic Review</I> (2014), 164-180.<P> We analyze the impact of product bundling in experimental markets. One firm has monopoly power in a first market but competes with another firm in a second market. We compare treatments where the...</p></i>