We study how the quality dimension affects the social optimum in a model of spatial differentiation where two facilities provide a public service. If quality enters linearly in the individuals' utility function, a symmetric configuration, in which both facilities have the same quality and serve groups of individuals of the same size, does not maximize the social welfare. This is a surprising result as all individuals are symmetrically identical having the same quality valuation. We also show that a symmetric configuration of facilities may maximize the social welfare if the individuals' marginal utility of quality is decreasing.

中文翻译：

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关于提供不同质量公共服务的说明

我们研究了质量维度如何在两个设施提供公共服务的空间差异模型中影响社会最优。如果质量在个人效用函数中呈线性，对称配置（其中两个设施具有相同质量并为相同规模的个人群体提供服务）不会最大化社会福利。这是一个令人惊讶的结果，因为所有个体都是对称相同的，具有相同的质量评估。我们还表明，如果个人的边际质量效用下降，对称的设施配置可以使社会福利最大化。