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Perfect Competition, Historically Contemplated

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  • George J. Stigler

Abstract

No concept in economics — or elsewhere — is ever defined fully, in the sense that its meaning under every conceivable circumstance is clear. Even a word with a wholly arbitrary meaning in economics, like ‘elasticity’, raises questions which the person who defined it (in this case, Marshall) never faced: for example, how does the concept apply to finite changes or to discontinuous or stochastic or multiple-valued functions ? And of course a word like ‘competition’, which is shared with the whole population, is even less likely to be loaded with restrictions or elaborations to forestall unfelt ambiguities.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • George J. Stigler, 1957. "Perfect Competition, Historically Contemplated," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(1), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jpolec:v:65:y:1957:p:1
    DOI: 10.1086/257878
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