We consider a dynamic two-period model where two firms offer products that are differentiated a la Hotelling. Consumers purchase products in a first period, and in a second period consumers are locked-in to their first-period choice of producer with a switching cost. In the second period firms...

The decision to take more education is complex, and is influenced by individual ability, financial constraints, family background, preferences, etc. Such factors, normally unobserved by the researcher, introduce endogeneity and heterogeneity problems into estimating the returns to education. In...

This paper illustrates how, in local retail markets, a multiproduct retailer may gain buyer power when some consumers are one-stop shoppers (multi-product shop-pers). We consider a model where independent suppliers negotiate terms of trade with a large multiproduct retailer and a group of...

This paper investigates a retailer's decision to introduce a private label and asks how the retailer's access to a private label may affect the pricing of substitute national brands. We consider a model with two vertically differentiated national brand manufacturers that negotiate sequentially...

Product selection matters for a firm’s productivity and long-run growth. Recent theoretical and empirical studies indicate that an important margin of adjustment to policy reforms is the reallocation of output within firms through changes in product mix decisions. This paper examines the...

The New Economic Geography literature allows detailed analysis of the factors that determine the location decisions of firms in integrated markets. However, the competitive process is modelled in a rather rudimentary way, and the empirical evidence has usually been obtained from reduced-form...

Using data on 172 city-pair markets in eight European countries, we investigate the effect of the market structure on airlines choices of frequency and prices. Applying an address model, we show that equilibrium prices depend on passengers value of time, marginal flight costs and the aggregate...

Entry of large (“big-box”) stores along with a drastic fall in the total number of stores is a striking trend in retail markets. In this paper we provide a dynamic structural model, controlling for unobserved prices and local market characteristics, to estimate total factor productivity in...

Switching costs are costs that customers face when switching from one firm to another. In markets such as the airline market where repeated purchases are common, switching costs may be substantial. In this paper we estimate the switching costs for domestic airline routes in Sweden between 1992...

Policy recommendations concerning optimal scale of production units often have serious implications for the restructuring of a sector, while tests of natural monopoly have important implications for regulatory structure. The piecewise linear frontier production function framework is becoming the...