This article provides an original theoretical exploration of the potential effects of northern activism on labor conditions and welfare in the South using a duopoly model with endogenous prices, wages and qualities. We assume that all consumers derive the same utility from one (“northern") good but are heterogeneous with respect to the other (“southern") good. This asymmetry captures in a stylized fashion the consensus among northern consumers on the labor conditions prevailing in the North and their ambivalence concerning labor practices in the South. A greater consumer’s social consciousness can be seen as a punishment (boycott) for harmful practices or a reward (buycott) for more virtuous practices. If both forms of activism seem to have the same objectives, one should prefer an activism based on positive information. In an in-depth analysis of a boycott and a buycott campaign, we show that the less socially conscious a firm, the higher the likelihood to be targeted by a boycott or a buycott campaign. A higher quality may reduce this likelihood to be targeted. Northern firm should prefer boycott to buycott whereas southern one always prefer buycott. We also show that consumer surplus may decrease with the both form of activism.

本文使用具有内生价格、工资和质量的双头垄断模型，对北方激进主义对南方劳动条件和福利的潜在影响进行了原创性的理论探索。我们假设所有消费者从一种（“北方”）商品中获得相同的效用，但相对于另一种（“南方”）商品来说是异质的。这种不对称以一种程式化的方式捕捉到北方消费者对北方普遍存在的劳动条件的共识以及他们对南方劳动实践的矛盾心理。更大的消费者社会意识可以被视为对有害行为的惩罚（抵制）或对更良性行为的奖励（购买）。如果两种形式的激进主义似乎具有相同的目标，那么人们应该更喜欢基于积极信息的激进主义。在对抵制和买进运动的深入分析中，我们表明，公司的社会意识越低，成为抵制或买进运动目标的可能性就越大。更高的质量可能会降低这种成为目标的可能性。北方公司应该更喜欢抵制而不是购买，而南方公司总是更喜欢购买。我们还表明，消费者剩余可能会随着两种形式的激进主义而减少。