Multi-Product Firms and Product Quality

Multi-Product Firms, Quality Differentiation and Comparative Advantage

This paper introduces a new theoretical model to explore how the behavior of heterogeneous intermediate suppliers affects the product quality choice of heterogeneous final good producers. It explains the choices of quality, inputs and the export prices of a multi-product firm in response to different market characteristics. We found that a more productive firm exports a larger and higher qualit...

Multi-Product Firms and Trade Liberalization∗

This paper develops a general equilibrium model of international trade that features selection across firms, products and countries. Firms’export decisions depend on a combination of firm “productivity” and firm-product-country “consumer tastes”, both of which are stochastic and unknown prior to the payment of a sunk cost of entry. Trade liberalization induces endogenous reallocations of resour...

Are Sports Teams Multi-product Firms?

Author Contact: K. G. Stewart, Dept. of Economics, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700, STN CSC, Victoria, B.C., Canada V8W 2Y2; e-mail: [email protected]; Phone: (250) 721-8534; FAX: (250) 721-6214 Abstract The appropriate conception of team outputs is investigated by estimating a two-output factor demand system for baseball teams, relative to which single-output models are rejected. There is...

Product Quality and the Economic Performance of Firms

No 769 December 2006 Multi - Product Firms and Trade Liberalization

This paper develops a general equilibrium model of multi-product firms and analyzes their behavior during trade liberalization. Firm productivity in a given product is modeled as a combination of firm-level “ability” and firmproduct-level “expertise”, both of which are stochastic and unknown prior to the firm’s payment of a sunk cost of entry. Higher firm-level ability raises a firm’s productiv...