Expandability, reversibility, and optimal capacity choice

We develop continuous-time models of capacity choice when demand fluctuates stochastically, and the firm's opportunities to expand or contract are limited. Specifically, we consider costs of investing or disinvesting that vary with time, or with the amount of capacity already installed. The fir...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dixit, Avinash K., Pindyck, Robert S.
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.
Format: Working Paper
Published: MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research 2009
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/50228
Description
Summary:We develop continuous-time models of capacity choice when demand fluctuates stochastically, and the firm's opportunities to expand or contract are limited. Specifically, we consider costs of investing or disinvesting that vary with time, or with the amount of capacity already installed. The firm's limited opportunities to expand or contract create call and put options on incremental units of capital; we show how the values of these options affect the firm's investment decisions.