Skip to main content
Log in

Market integration and imperfect competition in labor and product markets

  • Published:
Open Economies Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We analyze the consequences of product market integration in a simple two-country, two-sector, general-equilibrium model with imperfect competition due to economies of scale. In contrast to the existing literature we take explicit account of the labor-market structures in the integrating economies. It turns out that the specific labor-market structures are very important for how integration affects total production and product market structure in a particular economy. However, integration always gives rise to a welfare gain in both economies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bean, Charles R., Jean-Pierre Danthine, Peter Bernholz and Edmond Malinvaud (1990) “European Labor Markets: A Long-run View,”CEPS Paper 46.

  • Bonanno, Giacomo (1990) “General Equilibrium Theory with Imperfect Competition,”Journal of Economic Surveys 4, 297–328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brander, James A. and Barbara J. Spencer (1983) “Strategic Commitment with R & D: The Symmetric Case”Bell Journal of Economics 14, 225–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cahuc, Pierre and André Zylberberg (1991) “Niveaux de Négociations Salariales et Performances Macroéconomiques,”Annales D' Économie et de Statistique 23, 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calmfors, Lan and John Driffill (1988) “Centralization of Wage Bargaining,” Economic Policy 6, 12–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixit, Avinash (1979) “A Model of Duopoly Suggesting a Theory of Entry Barriers,”Bell Journal of Economics 10, 20–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dlxit, Avinash and Victor Norman (1980)Theory of International Trade: A Dual, General Equilibrium Approach. Welwyn: James Nisbet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dowrick, Steve (1989) “Union-Oligopoly Bargaining,”Economic Journal 99, 1123–1142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacquemin, Alexis and André Sapir (1988) “International Trade and Integration of the European Community,”European Economic Review 32, 1439–1449.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neumann, George, Peder J. Pedersen and Niels Westergård-Nielsen (1991) “Long-run International Trends in Aggregate Unionization,”European Journal of Political Economy 7, 249–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oswald, Andrew J. (1985) “The Economic Theory of Trade Unions: An Introductory Survey,”Scandinavian Journal of Economics 87, 160–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, Alasdair and Anthony J. Venables (1988) “Completing the Internal Market in the European Community,”European Economic Review 32, 1501–1525.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sleuwaegen, Leo and Hideki Yamawaki (1988) “The Formation of the European Common Market and Changes in Market Structure and Performance,”European Economic Review 32, 1451–1475.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vives, Xavier (1984) “Duopoly Information Equilibrium: Cournot and Bertrand,”Journal of Economic Theory 34, 71–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winters, Allan L. (1987) “Britain in Europe: A Survey of Quantitative Trade Studies,”Journal of Common Market Studies 25.

  • Winters, Allan L. (1988) “Completing the European Internal Market,”European Economic Review 32, 1477–1499.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

I have benefitted from comments by an anonymous referee, a coeditor of this journal, and by participants in a workshop arranged by CIE in April 1992, at the University of Aarhus, and by participants at the EEA conference in Dublin 1992.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sørensen, J.R. Market integration and imperfect competition in labor and product markets. Open Econ Rev 5, 115–130 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01000747

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01000747

Key words

Navigation