In this paper we analyze the relationship between competition and cost reducing investments in the context of a location model. In particular, we derive the symmetric subgame-perfect equilibrium of a three-stage circular city model with closed-loop strategies, and study the effects of changes in...

In this paper we investigate the relationship between product market competition and managerial incentives within a circular city model with observable agency contracts. With respect to the case of unobservability studied by <link rid="b13">Raith (2003</link>), we find that optimal managerial contracts provide lower...

In some European countries, the liberalization of the motor insurance market in the 1990s led to substantial increases in fares and claims throughout the whole decade. In this paper we argue that these phenomena are due to the impact of liberalization on companies' optimal incentives to fight...

It is widely recognized that regional policies implemented in Southern Italy in the last 15 years have had poor effects in terms of Gdp, employment and firms' performance. This chapter seeks to put forth possible explanations of this unfortunate outcome and to predict the likely impact of the...

Currently, the main form of public intervention in the Mezzogiorno are the financial subsidies and the so-called negotiated planning instruments. In this paper, we argue that both these kind of policies show a number of relevant drawbacks. Financial subsidies fail to stimulate additional...

Does participation in inter-firm networks make access to credit easier for firms? Is finance a motivation driving the formation of inter-firm networks? During the last twenty years these two questions have been hotly debated by economists both theoretically and empirically. In this paper, we...

E' ben noto che i tassi di interesse sul credito bancario differiscono significativamente secondo che le imprese appartengono a diversi settori industriali, aree geografiche, gruppi di eta'. La spiegazione usuale di questo fenomeno Š che esista una correlazione tra l'appartenenza al gruppo e la...

We present a solution for a three stage spatial competition model that does not require restrictive assumptions on price expectations. This allows us to generalize the Raith (2003) model to the case where principals behave in a fully strategic fashion both in the price and in the compensation...

In this paper we analyze the relationship between competition and cost reducing investments in the context of a location model. In particular, we derive the symmetric subgame-perfect equilibrium of a three-stage circular city model with closed-loop strategies, and study the effects of changes in...