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Edgeworth's Conjecture with Infinitely Many Commodities

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  • Robert M. Anderson and William R. Zame.

Abstract

Equivalence of the core and the set of Walrasian allocations has long been taken as one of the basic tests of perfect competition. The present paper examines this basic test of perfect competition in economies with an infinite dimensional space of commodities and a large finite number of agents. In this context we cannot expect equality of the core and the set of Walrasian allocations; rather, as in the finite dimensional context, we look for theorems establishing core convergence (that is, approximate decentralization of core allocations in economies with a large finite number of agents). Previous work in this area has established that core convergence for replica economies and core equivalence for economies with a continuum of agents continue to be valid under assumptions much the same as those usual in the finite dimensional context. For general large finite economies, however, we present here a sequence of examples of the failure of core convergence. These examples point to a serious disconnection between replica economies and continuum economies on the one hand an general large finite economies on the other hand. We identify the source of this disconnection as the measurability requirements that are implicit in the continuum model, and which correspond to compactness requirements that have especially serious economic content in the infinite dimensional context. We also obtain positive results. When the commodity space is a Riesz space, we show that familiar assumptions lead to a kind of local core convergence; strong assumptions lead to global core convergence. In the differentiated commodities context, we obtain core convergence results that are quite parallel to known equivalence results for continuum economies. Our positive results depend on infinite dimensional versions of the Shapley-Folkman theorem.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert M. Anderson and William R. Zame., 1995. "Edgeworth's Conjecture with Infinitely Many Commodities," Economics Working Papers 95-235, University of California at Berkeley.
  • Handle: RePEc:ucb:calbwp:95-235
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    Cited by:

    1. Roberto Serrano & Rajiv Vohra & Oscar Volij, 2001. "On the Failure of Core Convergence in Economies with Asymmetric Information," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(6), pages 1685-1696, November.
    2. Martins-da-Rocha, V. Filipe & Riedel, Frank, 2010. "On equilibrium prices in continuous time," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 145(3), pages 1086-1112, May.
    3. Charalambos Aliprantis & Kim Border & Owen Burkinshaw, 1996. "Market economies with many commodities," Decisions in Economics and Finance, Springer;Associazione per la Matematica, vol. 19(1), pages 113-185, March.
    4. Sun, Guang-Zhen & Yang, Xiaokai & Zhou, Lin, 2004. "General equilibria in large economies with endogenous structure of division of labor," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 237-256, October.
    5. M. Ali Khan & Kali P. Rath, 2011. "The Shapley-Folkman Theorem and the Range of a Bounded Measure: An Elementary and Unified Treatment," Economics Working Paper Archive 586, The Johns Hopkins University,Department of Economics.
    6. Roberto Serrano & Oscar Volij, 2008. "Mistakes in Cooperation: the Stochastic Stability of Edgeworth's Recontracting," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(532), pages 1719-1741, October.
    7. Herves-Beloso, Carlos & Moreno-Garcia, Emma & Nunez-Sanz, Carmelo & Rui Pascoa, Mario, 2000. "Blocking Efficacy of Small Coalitions in Myopic Economies," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 72-86, July.
    8. Gretsky, Neil E. & Ostroy, Joseph M. & Zame, William R., 1999. "Perfect Competition in the Continuous Assignment Model," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 60-118, September.

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