CIRJE-F-793 "Hotelling Meets Weber"
Author Name Lai, Fu-Chuan and Takatoshi Tabuchi
Date March 2011
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Remarks  Subsequently published in Regional Science and Urban Economics, 42, 1017-1022, 2012
Abstract

In this paper, spatial competition between two sellers in a market (Hotelling, 1929) and total transportation costs minimization (Weber, 1909) are combined, and equilibrium and optimum locations of firms are analyzed along with the consequent policy implications. We reveal that when the output prices are fixed and equal, then both firms agglomerate at the market center, irrespective of the distribution of inputs. Further, we also show that the middle point of firm locations in Hotelling's model is identical to the Weber's point. Finally, it is indicated that the location of firms in Hotelling's model is far from the socially optimal location.