Market Entry Regulation and International Competition

As a part of their industry or competition policies governments decide whether to allow for free market entry of firms or to regulate market access. We analyze a model where governments (ab)use these policy decisions for strategic reasons in an international setting. Multiple equilibria of this game emerge; and if the cost difference between domestic and foreign firms is ‘significant‘, all equilibria induce the same allocation, where production exclusively takes place in the cost-efficient country. Moreover, these equilibria are Pareto efficient if this cost difference is ‘substantial‘. Only if cost differences are ‘insignificant‘, may production take place in both countries in equilibrium.