This paper examines the welfare effects of the formation of a free-trade area (a set of countries that abolish tariffs among member countries but let individual member countries to set external tariffs). If a representative consumer has love-of-variety preferences the welfare function exhibits...

We examine the endogenous formation of research coalitions with high spillovers among symmetric firms. Members of a research coalition set their R&D investments in order to maximise the aggregate profits of members of their coalition. The Exclusive membership rule supports a more "concentrated"...

This paper studies stable structures of efficiency-enhancing joint ventures among symmetric firms. Efficiency gains that accrue to a joint venture are assumed to increase with its size. The socially efficient industry-wide joint venture is the stable outcome when membership of a joint venture is...