IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jincot/v22y2022i2d10.1007_s10842-022-00381-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Taxation, Network Externalities, Consumer Suffering, and Profit-Raising Entry: A Cautionary Note

Author

Listed:
  • Qidi Zhang

    (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law)

  • Leonard F. S. Wang

    (Zhongnan University of Economics and Law)

Abstract

Conventional wisdom is that higher competition, implying more active firms, benefits consumers but hurts producer surplus. Under unit taxation/subsidy, we find that the entry of efficient firms improves consumer welfare, while the entry of inefficient firms hurts consumer surplus with network externalities. The entry of efficient firm raises industry profit if the degree of network externalities is relatively high. The latter result is at odds with the conventional wisdom and showed another channel for the possibility of a profit-raising entry. Our results suggest that the strength of network effects should be considered for designing taxation/subsidy and competition policies concurrently.

Suggested Citation

  • Qidi Zhang & Leonard F. S. Wang, 2022. "Taxation, Network Externalities, Consumer Suffering, and Profit-Raising Entry: A Cautionary Note," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 225-231, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jincot:v:22:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10842-022-00381-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10842-022-00381-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10842-022-00381-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10842-022-00381-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Leonard F.S. & Zeng, Chenhang & Zhang, Qidi, 2019. "Indirect taxation and consumer welfare in an asymmetric Stackelberg oligopoly," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    2. Matsushima, Noriaki, 2006. "Industry profits and free entry in input markets," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 93(3), pages 329-336, December.
    3. Tsuyoshi Toshimitsu, 2020. "Note on the excess entry theorem in the presence of network externalities," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 47(2), pages 271-282, June.
    4. Arijit Mukherjee & Laixun Zhao, 2017. "Profit Raising Entry," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(1), pages 214-219, March.
    5. Lahiri, Sajal & Ono, Yoshiyasu, 1988. "Helping Minor Firms Reduces Welfare," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 98(393), pages 1199-1202, December.
    6. Soumyananda Dinda & Arijit Mukherjee, 2014. "A Note on the Adverse Effect of Competition on Consumers," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 16(1), pages 157-163, February.
    7. Luciano Fanti & Domenico Buccella, 2017. "Profit raising entry effects in network industries with Corporate Social Responsibility," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 6(3), pages 59-68.
    8. Wang, Leonard F.S. & Zeng, Chenhang & Zhang, Qidi, 2019. "Indirect taxation and undesirable competition," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 104-106.
    9. Arijit Mukherjee & Udo Broll & Soma Mukherjee, 2009. "The welfare effects of entry: the role of the input market," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 98(3), pages 189-201, December.
    10. Hoernig, Steffen, 2012. "Strategic delegation under price competition and network effects," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 117(2), pages 487-489.
    11. Mukherjee, Arijit, 2019. "Profit raising entry in a vertical structure," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1-1.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jiaxin Han & Chenhang Zeng, 2023. "The effects of downstream entry in a vertical mixed oligopoly: the role of input pricing," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 37-61, September.
    2. Wang, Leonard F.S. & Zeng, Chenhang & Zhang, Qidi, 2019. "Indirect taxation and consumer welfare in an asymmetric Stackelberg oligopoly," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    3. Wang, Leonard F.S. & Zeng, Chenhang & Zhang, Qidi, 2019. "Indirect taxation and undesirable competition," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 104-106.
    4. Mukherjee, Arijit, 2019. "Profit raising entry in a vertical structure," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1-1.
    5. Tsuyoshi Toshimitsu, 2021. "Note on a profit-raising entry effect in a differentiated Cournot oligopoly market with network compatibility," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 48(2), pages 245-255, June.
    6. Jiyun Cao & Arijit Mukherjee, 2024. "Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Licensing in a Polluting Industry," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(9), pages 2361-2399, September.
    7. Duarte Brito & Margarida Catalão-Lopes, 2023. "Profit raising entry under mixed behavior," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 138(1), pages 51-72, January.
    8. Robin Naylor & Christian Soegaard, 2022. "Profit‐raising entry under oligopolistic trade with endogenous input prices," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(7), pages 2135-2164, July.
    9. Fanti, Luciano & Meccheri, Nicola, 2014. "Profits and competition under alternative technologies in a unionized duopoly with product differentiation," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 157-168.
    10. Naylor, Robin & Soegaard, Christian, 2014. "The Effects of Entry in Oligopoly with Bargained Wages," Economic Research Papers 270239, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    11. Jine Qian & Qiang Gong & Leonard F.S. Wang, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility, loan commitment, and social welfare in network duopoly," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(4), pages 952-960, June.
    12. Habiger, Peter & Kopel, Michael, 2020. "Strategic delegation in successive oligopolies with differentiated firms," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    13. Junichiro Ishida & Toshihiro Matsumura & Noriaki Matsushima, 2011. "Market Competition, R&D And Firm Profits In Asymmetric Oligopoly," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 484-505, September.
    14. Yamada, Mai, 2016. "The Optimal Trading Partner for an Upstream Monopolist," MPRA Paper 70325, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Arijit Mukherjee & Achintya Ray, 2014. "Entry, Profit and Welfare under Asymmetric R&D Costs," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 82(3), pages 284-295, June.
    16. Luciano Fanti & Domenico Buccella, 2017. "Profit raising entry effects in network industries with Corporate Social Responsibility," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 6(3), pages 59-68.
    17. Pak-Sing Choi & Felix Munoz-Garcia, 2023. "Can more perishable products be welfare-improving?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(2), pages 1088-1097.
    18. Haraguchi, Junichi & Matsumura, Toshihiro, 2017. "Firms' Costs, Profits, Entries, and Innovation under Optimal Privatization Policy," MPRA Paper 80927, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Tarun Kabiraj & Rittwik Chatterjee & Srobonti Chattopadhyay, 2024. "Free Licensing in a Differentiated Duopoly," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 22(3), pages 589-613, September.
    20. Akio Kawasaki & Ming Hsin Lin & Noriaki Matsushima, 2014. "Multi‐Market Competition, R&D, and Welfare in Oligopoly," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 80(3), pages 803-815, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cournot oligopoly; Network externalities; Entry; Consumer suffering; Profit-raising;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jincot:v:22:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10842-022-00381-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.