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Marshall's Theory of Value and the Strong Law of Demand

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Abstract

We show that all the fundamental properties of competitive equilibrium in Marshall's theory of value, as presented in Note XXI of the mathematical appendix to his Principles of Economics (1890), derive from the Strong Law of Demand. This is, existence, uniqueness, optimality, global stability of equilibrium prices with respect to tantonnement price adjustment and refutability follow from the cyclical monotonicity of the market demand function in the Marshallian general equilibrium model.

Suggested Citation

  • Donald J. Brown & Caterina Calsamiglia, 2007. "Marshall's Theory of Value and the Strong Law of Demand," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1615, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    • Handle: RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1615
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John K.-H. Quah, 2000. "The Monotonicity of Individual and Market Demand," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 68(4), pages 911-930, July.
    2. Hildenbrand, Werner, 1983. "On the "Law of Demand."," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 51(4), pages 997-1019, July.
    3. Donald J. Brown & Caterina Calsamiglia, 2008. "The Nonparametric Approach to Applied Welfare Analysis," Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, in: Computational Aspects of General Equilibrium Theory, pages 41-46, Springer.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Partial equilibrium analysis; Short run equilibrium; Strong law of demand; Cyclical monotonicity; Legendre-Frenchel duality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B13 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Neoclassical through 1925 (Austrian, Marshallian, Walrasian, Wicksellian)
    • C62 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Existence and Stability Conditions of Equilibrium
    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • D51 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Exchange and Production Economies

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