Following Kreps and Scheinkman [1983] it is common to view the differe
nce between Cournot and Bertrand competition as depending on productio
n capacity. Bertrand undercutting is only feasible if firms have capac
ity to serve the market gained. If firms are capacity constrained, the
Cournot model is more appropriate. This paper tests the capacity and
competition idea by looking at the relationship between profits and ca
pacity constraints; if capacity constrained firms become more Cournot-
like, it should be positive. Using survey data on capacity constraints
merged into a panel industry data set for the UK we find a robust pos
itive relationship.