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R&D competition in a spatial model with technical risk *
Author(s) -
Li Changying,
Zhang Jianhu
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
papers in regional science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.937
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1435-5957
pISSN - 1056-8190
DOI - 10.1111/j.1435-5957.2012.00433.x
Subject(s) - competition (biology) , welfare , economics , microeconomics , social welfare , perspective (graphical) , welfare economics , mathematics , ecology , biology , geometry , political science , law , market economy
. In this paper, we introduce stochastic R&D into a Hotelling model with two duopolists. With an emphasis on the interaction between firms' R&D decision and location choice, we compare socially and privately optimal locations and levels of R&D. We show that, depending on R&D cost and the degree of technical risk, equilibrium location varies from minimum differentiation to maximum differentiation. From a welfare perspective, the equilibrium distance between the two firms could be either closer, farther or socially best. Moreover, depending on cost structure, firms' R&D expenditures could be either higher, lower or socially optimal, from a welfare viewpoint.