INPUT PRICE UNCERTAINTY,INVESTMENTS IN FLEXIBILITY AND COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY EQUILIBRIUM

This paper assumes that firms can respond to input price uncertainty by selecting a flexible technology. A simple model of industry equilibrium is used to examine the choice of flexibility. It is shown that the industry equilibrium is not characterized by excess capacity. This contrasts with the result in the previous literature dealing with equilibrium under product demand uncertainty. It is also shown that the effect of an increase in input price dispersion on the optimal level of flexibility and the equilibrium number of firms depends on the interaction between flexibility and the optimal size of the firm.