Economic space is the distance that separates economic agents such as manufacturers and consumers. Distance naturally imposes costs on the economic agents, but it has long been a neglected element in
The last decade has seen an important extension of the theory of international trade to include imperfectly competitive market structures. This book collects 19 of the most influential articles on tra
This book takes a different approach to traditional price theory and to the analysis of imperfect competition. It represented a breakthrough in the development of a 'new' microeconomic theory. Increasingly, it has been recognized that the perfectly competitive paradigm is inappropriate to the explanation of pricing behaviour in many 'real life' markets characterized by a significant separation between producers and consumers. The spatial perspective adopted by the authors provides a natural separation of markets, but provides as well a powerful analogy for apparently nonspatial issues such as product differentiation, pricing over time, problems of storage and transportation, and the economics of intraindustry trade and of the multinational enterprise. A major concern of The Economics of Imperfect Competition: A Spatial Approach is to make these analogies explicit by applying this spatial analysis to a wide variety of nonspatial problems.
These two volumes bring together a set of important essays that represent a "newKeynesian" perspective in economics today. This recent work shows how the Keynesian approach toeconomic fluctuations can
Since the famous debate between Keynes and Ohlin on German reparation payments after World War I, international transfers have attracted the attention of economists. Today the subject is of even greater importance with billions of dollars flowing between nations as unilateral transfers. However the emphasis has shifted from balance-of-payments issues to the welfare consequences following a transfer and in particular the welfare issues arising from aid to developing countries. In The Economics of International Transfers, first published in 1998, Professors Brakman and van Marrewijk present an overview of transfers (including the history of transfers and current transfer flows) and their own unified framework in which they present important and original research. Subjects considered include welfare effects, distortions, third parties, rent-seeking, the 'trade or aid' discussion, multi-lateral agencies, tied aid and imperfect competition.
Since the famous debate between Keynes and Ohlin on German reparation payments after World War I, international transfers have attracted the attention of economists. Today the subject is of even greater importance with billions of dollars flowing between nations as unilateral transfers. However the emphasis has shifted from balance-of-payments issues to the welfare consequences following a transfer and in particular the welfare issues arising from aid to developing countries. In The Economics of International Transfers, first published in 1998, Professors Brakman and van Marrewijk present an overview of transfers (including the history of transfers and current transfer flows) and their own unified framework in which they present important and original research. Subjects considered include welfare effects, distortions, third parties, rent-seeking, the 'trade or aid' discussion, multi-lateral agencies, tied aid and imperfect competition.
Much of today's conventional macroeconomic theory presumes that markets for goods approach the state of perfect competition. Monopolistic Competition and Macroeconomic Theory assumes that markets are imperfect, so that sellers have some power over price, and must therefore form quantity expectations about the location of the firm's demand curve. The question is then about the macroeconomic implications of imperfect competition in goods markets. The first chapter is a brief survey of ideas proposed in economics including multiple equilibria. The second chapter describes a particular micro-based macro model that allows several families of equilibria. The third chapter shows how a standard locational model can be used to describe a sample macroeconomy when firms have close rivals. In this volume derived from his Federico Caffe Lecture, Nobel Laureate Robert Solow shows that there are simple and tractable micro-based models that offer the possibility of a richer and more intuitive macroec
Much of today's conventional macroeconomic theory presumes that markets for goods approach the state of perfect competition. Monopolistic Competition and Macroeconomic Theory assumes that markets are imperfect, so that sellers have some power over price, and must therefore form quantity expectations about the location of the firm's demand curve. The question is then about the macroeconomic implications of imperfect competition in goods markets. The first chapter is a brief survey of ideas proposed in economics including multiple equilibria. The second chapter describes a particular micro-based macro model that allows several families of equilibria. The third chapter shows how a standard locational model can be used to describe a sample macroeconomy when firms have close rivals. In this volume derived from his Federico Caffe Lecture, Nobel Laureate Robert Solow shows that there are simple and tractable micro-based models that offer the possibility of a richer and more intuitive macroec
This reference accords recognition to the recent revolution in macroeconomics wrought by imperfect competition. Grossman and Rogoff (Princeton U.) present chapters by two dozen contributors on two pri
A Course in Public Economics, first published in 2004, explores the central questions of whether or not markets work, and if not, what is to be done about it. The first part of the textbook, designed for upper-level undergraduates and first-year graduate students, begins with an extended discussion of the two theorems of welfare economics. These theorems show that competitive markets can give rise to socially desirable outcomes, and describe the conditions under which they do so. The second part of the book discusses the kinds of market failure - externalities, public goods, imperfect competition and asymmetric information - that arise when these conditions are not met. The role of the government in resolving market failures is examined. The limits of government action, especially those arising from asymmetric information, are also investigated. A knowledge of intermediate microeconomics and basic calculus is assumed.
Recent developments in public economics have largely been in the direction of reaffirming the limits of the market and of establishing new ones. The possible existence of fundamental non-convexities, imperfect and asymmetric information, incentive compatibility, imperfect competition, strategic complementarity, and scale economies led to the conclusion that a large set of market failures exist; such situations also imply government failure. Acocella, considers this complicated picture and provides a discussion of the different approaches to establishing social 'rankings' of the possible situations and the underlying principles. The arguments for and against different institutions are then analysed at a micro and macroeconomic level. The market and the government are recognised as imperfect, and thus complementary, institutions. Specific policy targets and instruments are considered in the areas of micro and macro-economic policy. Special attention is devoted to questions of policy mana
Rakesh V. Vohra offers a unique approach to studying and understanding intermediate microeconomics by reversing the conventional order of treatment, starting with topics that are mathematically simpler and progressing to the more complex. The book begins with monopoly, which requires single variable rather than multivariable calculus and allows students to focus clearly on the fundamental trade-off at the heart of economics: margin versus volume. Imperfect competition and the contrast with monopoly follows, introducing the notion of Nash equilibrium. Perfect competition is addressed toward the end of the book, and framed as a model of non-strategic behavior by firms and agents. The last chapter is devoted to externalities, with an emphasis on how one might design competitive markets to price externalities and linking the difficulties to the problem of efficient provision of public goods. Real-life examples engage the reader while encouraging them to think critically about the interplay
Rakesh V. Vohra offers a unique approach to studying and understanding intermediate microeconomics by reversing the conventional order of treatment, starting with topics that are mathematically simpler and progressing to the more complex. The book begins with monopoly, which requires single variable rather than multivariable calculus and allows students to focus clearly on the fundamental trade-off at the heart of economics: margin versus volume. Imperfect competition and the contrast with monopoly follows, introducing the notion of Nash equilibrium. Perfect competition is addressed toward the end of the book, and framed as a model of non-strategic behavior by firms and agents. The last chapter is devoted to externalities, with an emphasis on how one might design competitive markets to price externalities and linking the difficulties to the problem of efficient provision of public goods. Real-life examples engage the reader while encouraging them to think critically about the interplay
This book tells the story of the search for disequilibrium micro-foundations for macroeconomic theory, from the disequilibrium theories of Patinkin, Clower and Leijonhufvud to recent dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models with imperfect competition. Placing this search against the background of wider developments in macroeconomics, the authors contend that this was never a single research program, but involved economists with very different aims who developed the basic ideas about quantity constraints, spillover effects and coordination failures in different ways. The authors contrast this with the equilibrium, market-clearing approach of Phelps and Lucas, arguing that equilibrium theories simply assumed away the problems that had motivated the disequilibrium literature. Although market-clearing models came to dominate macroeconomics, disequilibrium theories never went away and continue to exert an important influence on the subject. Although this book focuses on one strand in m
Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Cournot's work, which Mark Blaug has characterized as 'a book that for sheer originality and boldness of conception has no equal in the history of economics thought', this volume focuses on the properties and uses of Cournot's model of competition among the few. While there are many issues that Cournot explored in researches into the mathematical principles of the theory of wealth, the topic that he is most readily associated with - and which now is also enjoying a revival - is his model of oligopolistic interaction among firms. This revival of interest in Cournot's model is due largely to increased emphasis by economists on capturing elements of imperfect competition and strategic behavior.
The existence of firms with different levels of efficiency within a country plays an important role in this in-depth analysis of industrial and trade policies in a multi-country trade-theoretic framework. Sajal Lahiri and Yoshiyasu Ono examine various industrial policies, R&D subsidies and trade policies under conditions of imperfect competition in a product market created by the presence of Cournot oligopolistic interdependence in production. Trade is defined broadly to include trade in commodity as well as trade in capital, specifically foreign direct investment. While the first part of the book focuses on commodity trade and assumes full employment, the latter considers foreign direct investment and assumes the presence of unemployment. Given the importance of industrial policies and the prevalence of imperfect competition, together with ongoing attention to theoretical issues concerning industrial economics, this research will excite interest amongst researchers, advanced students
The existence of firms with different levels of efficiency within a country plays an important role in this in-depth analysis of industrial and trade policies in a multi-country trade-theoretic framework. Sajal Lahiri and Yoshiyasu Ono examine various industrial policies, R&D subsidies and trade policies under conditions of imperfect competition in a product market created by the presence of Cournot oligopolistic interdependence in production. Trade is defined broadly to include trade in commodity as well as trade in capital, specifically foreign direct investment. While the first part of the book focuses on commodity trade and assumes full employment, the latter considers foreign direct investment and assumes the presence of unemployment. Given the importance of industrial policies and the prevalence of imperfect competition, together with ongoing attention to theoretical issues concerning industrial economics, this research will excite interest amongst researchers, advanced students
This book tells the story of the search for disequilibrium micro-foundations for macroeconomic theory, from the disequilibrium theories of Patinkin, Clower and Leijonhufvud to recent dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models with imperfect competition. Placing this search against the background of wider developments in macroeconomics, the authors contend that this was never a single research program, but involved economists with very different aims who developed the basic ideas about quantity constraints, spillover effects and coordination failures in different ways. The authors contrast this with the equilibrium, market-clearing approach of Phelps and Lucas, arguing that equilibrium theories simply assumed away the problems that had motivated the disequilibrium literature. Although market-clearing models came to dominate macroeconomics, disequilibrium theories never went away and continue to exert an important influence on the subject. Although this book focuses on one strand in m
