Multiple Expectational Equilibria under Monopolistic Competition
- 1 November 1988
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in The Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Vol. 103 (4) , 695-713
- https://doi.org/10.2307/1886070
Abstract
This paper shows that a monopolistically competitive economy with real investment can have multiple rational expectations equilibria: one is associated with entrepreneurs' optimistic expectations about future demand; another with entrepreneurs' pessimism. It also shows that an optimistic expectational equilibrium Pareto dominates a pessimistic equilibrium. An investment subsidy can be beneficial both by reducing the original underinvestment distortion and by changing firms' expectations from pessimistic to optimistic. The most important assumption is increasing returns to scale, and monopolistic competition makes increasing returns consistent with each producer's optimization.Keywords
This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: