We provide a comparative welfare analysis of domestic and cross-national mergers. We focus, in particular, on the importance of possible synergies in mergers, the existing market structure and the bargaining power of the merging firms (in the case of a cross-border merger).

In a set-up of two local firms and one foreign firm, we construct a model to capture the dynamics of local industrial structure induced by formation and breakdown of cross-border joint ventures (JVs). There is a synergic gain to the JV, and the partners learn from each other. Firms play a...

We analyze the outsourcing decision of a firm for a key input of a final good production to an independent input supplier even though the firm has an option of producing that key input in-house at a lower cost with a better technology. We find that for smaller technology gap with the independent...

In a model of vertical product differentiation we study the impact of liberalization on the choice of the product quality of a local monopolist. We show that under liberalization as one foreign firm enters with a superior quality, the local firm will reduce its quality level unless the foreign...

We show that under some conditions, it is optimal for the non-innovating south to give patent protection for a longer period than the innovating north. However, a cooperative patent agreement involves a larger protection by each country compared to the non-cooperative situation.