Multiproduct firms and scope adjustment in globalization

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Qiu, Larry D.; Zhou, Wen
• 署名单位: University of Hong Kong
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1996
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinteco.2013.04.006
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 142-153
• 关键词: multiproduct firms; GLOBALIZATION; trade liberalization; SCOPE; firm heterogeneity

摘要

A model of heterogeneous firms with variety-specific fixed costs is developed and analyzed to study how multiproduct firms respond to globalization. In contrast with most existing models, the analysis demonstrates that more-productive firms may expand their product scope, which in turn may push up their average costs. A necessary and sufficient condition for scope expansion is that the fixed cost of introducing more varieties increases rapidly with the product scope. With increasing globalization, the percentage of scope-expanding firms diminishes and eventually becomes zero. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.