On the persistence of leadership or leapfrogging in international trade

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Motta, M; Thisse, JF; Cabrales, A
• 署名单位: Universite Catholique Louvain; Institut Polytechnique de Paris; Ecole des Ponts ParisTech
• 刊物名称: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0020-6598
• DOI: 10.2307/2527217
• 发表日期: 1997
• 页码: 809-824
• 关键词: product differentiation; games; MARKET; COMPETITION; integration; INNOVATION; EVOLUTION; CHOICE; MODEL

摘要

When two countries starting from different quality levels (reflecting different conditions on domestic market demands) open to trade, two possible equilibria arise. In the first, the quality leader maintains its position. In the second, leapfrogging occurs. However, the latter is possible only if the initial quality gap is not too wide. Further, when the risk dominance criterion is used, only the former equilibrium is selected. These results suggest that initial conditions (such as domestic market size or home demand preferences) are important factors in determining relative competitiveness of firms in international markets.