Competition with Local Network Externalities

Espen Moen (), Christian Riis () and Fjeldstad, Øystein

No 7778, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: Local network externalities are present when the utility of buying from a firm not only depends on the number of other customers (global network externalities), but also on their identity and/or characteristics. We explore the consequences of local network externalities within a framework where two firms compete offering differentiated products. We first show that local network externalities, in contrast to global network externalities, don't necessarily sharpen competition. Then we show that the equilibrium allocation is inefficient, in the sense that the allocation of consumers on firms does not maximize social surplus. Finally we show that local network externalities create a difference between the marginal and the average consumer, which gives rise to inefficiently high usage prices and too high level of compatibility between the networks.

Keywords: Competition; Differentiated products; Efficiency; Local network externalities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D43 D62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-04
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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