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Surplus Maximization and Optimality

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  • Edward E. Schlee

Abstract

Expected consumer's surplus rarely represents preferences over price lotteries. Still, I give sufficient conditions for policies which maximize aggregate expected surplus to be interim Pareto Optimal. Besides two standard partial equilibrium conditions, I assume that feasible prices satisfy a single-crossing property; and each consumer's indirect utility satisfies increasing differences in the price and income. I use the result to extend well-known welfare conclusions beyond the knife-edge quasilinear utility case. Since increasing differences puts no upper bound on risk aversion, the result is useful for applications in which risk aversion is important.

Suggested Citation

  • Edward E. Schlee, 2013. "Surplus Maximization and Optimality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2585-2611, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:103:y:2013:i:6:p:2585-2611
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.103.6.2585
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Deneckere, Raymond & Marvel, Howard P & Peck, James, 1997. "Demand Uncertainty and Price Maintenance: Markdowns as Destructive Competition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(4), pages 619-641, September.
    2. Feldstein, Martin S, 1977. "Quality Change and the Demand for Hospital Care," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 45(7), pages 1681-1702, October.
    3. Rogerson, William P, 1980. "Aggregate Expected Consumer Surplus as a Welfare Index with an Application to Price Stabilization," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(2), pages 423-436, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Schlee, Edward E., 2013. "Radner’s cost–benefit analysis in the small: An equivalence result," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 120(3), pages 570-572.
    2. M. Ali Khan & Edward E. Schlee, 2016. "On Lionel McKenzie's 1957 intrusion into 20th-century demand theory," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 49(2), pages 589-636, May.
    3. Shin-Kun Peng, 2014. "Housing Market and Agglomeration of Rent-Seeking Activities: Implications for Regional Development," ERSA conference papers ersa14p326, European Regional Science Association.
    4. John Bennett, 2022. "Rationed price controls and “prices versus quantities”," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 24(6), pages 1364-1385, December.
    5. Bialek, Sylwia, 2016. "Introducing Cattle Producer to the Hardin s World- Can Monopolies in Seed Markets Be Welfare Enhancing?," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145786, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • D42 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Monopoly
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L42 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Vertical Restraints; Resale Price Maintenance; Quantity Discounts

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