This paper applies a model of market power measurement under product differentiation to the case of the gasoline market in California, using data for the period 1983-1989. Our results show that there is a considerable degree of product differentiation among major brands. This allows firms to exercise local market power over their own specific products, but there are also signals of an important...

Using data from 11 manufacturing industries in 17 OECD countries, this paper empirically investigates the determinants of cross-country differences in the persistence of productivity differentials. Specifically, the paper focuses on the effects of product market structure and technology diffusion. It is found that the manufacturing industries display a wide range of convergence rates. Consisten...

We analyze the behavior of a monopolistic firm in general equilibrium when the firm’s decision are taken through shareholder voting. We show that, depending on the underlying distribution, rational voting may imply overproduction as well as underproduction, relative to the efficient level. Any initial distribution of shares is an equilibrium, if individuals do not recognize their influence on v...

To what extent will an industry in which mergers are feasible tend toward monopoly? We analyze this question using a dynamic dominant-firm model with rational agents, endogenous mergers, and constant returns to scale production. We find that long-run industry concentration depends upon the initial concentration. A monopolistic industry will remain monopolized and a perfectly competitive industr...

This paper studies optimal taxation in a Dixit–Stiglitz model of monopolistic competition. In this setting, taxes may be used as an instrument to o¤set distortions caused by producer markups. Since markups tend to be higher in industries where …rms face less elastic demand, tax rates will be pushed lower in these industries. This tends to work against the familiar inverse elasticities intuition...

Under what circumstances will a monopolistic competitive market be characterized by too little or too much quality variation? How do excise taxes affect the monopolistic competitive equilibrium? Can an increase in the minimum wage lead firms to employ more workers but cause a reduction in industry wide employment? What will be the multiplier effect of a balancedbudget increase in government tax...