Welfare in a two-product Cournot oligopoly is shown to increase (decrease) with an increase in correlation between unit costs when the outputs complement (substitute) in demand. A more qualified correlation structure is required for the result to apply in a three-product Cournot oligopoly when...

This research studies the role of multivariate distribution structure on random asset returns in determining the optimal allocation vector for an expected utility maximizing agent. By carefully disturbing symmetry in the distribution of the, possibly covarying, returns, we ascertain the ordinal...

For a homogeneous good, this article studies firm-level production activities when the firm controls a plural number of plants. Through careful construction of cost function technology asymmetries, we inquire into the ordinal structure of the production vector for multiplant cost minimizers....

Model invariances have been used extensively to understand welfare and conduct consequences of firm heterogeneity in a one-product Cournot oligopoly. Nothing is known about the richer and more realistic context of firm heterogeneity in multi-product Cournot oligopoly. In this note, welfare in a...

Diversification, a central issue in the study of capital allocation, has much to do with symmetries and asymmetries in the distribution of asset returns. A diversified portfolio imposes symmetry on the allocation vector in order to balance out much of the asymmetries in the returns vector. Using...

 Growing demand for cropland products has placed intense pressure on the abilityof land resources to support nature, straining public budgets to purchase environmental goods.Fixing overall agricultural output, two environmental policy options are whether to a) promotemore agricultural...

Producers are subject to similar production risks, and so their outputs are likely correlated. Using the entire data-set rather than summary statistics, we study an ordinal definition of systematic risk. For risk-neutral producers in perfect competition, we trace the effects of an increase in...

The welfare dominance of ad valorem taxes over unit taxes in a single-market Cournot oligopoly is well-known. This article extends the analysis to multi-market oligopoly. Provided all ad valorem taxes are positive, unit costs are constant, firms are active in all considered markets, and a...

The typical firm produces for sale a plural number of distinct product lines. This paper characterizes the composition of a firm?s optimal production vector as a function of cost and revenue function attributes. The approach taken applies mathematical group theory and revealed preference...

When adjustment costs are present, cyclical preference and technology heterogeneities in a product’s markets induce cycles in production. We exploit cyclic and dihedral group invariances in an industry’s cost technology to describe these patterns. We show when equilibrium cyclical pricing...