The WALRAS algorithm calculates competitive equilibria via a distributed tatonnement-like process, in which agents submit single-good demand functions to market-clearing auctions. The algorithm is asynchronous and decentralized with respect to both agents and markets, making it suitable for distributed implementation. We present a formal description of this algorithm, and prove that it converges under the standard assumption of gross substitutability. We relate our results to the literature on general equilibrium stability and some more recent work on decentralized algorithms. We present some experimental results as well, particularly for cases where the assumptions required to guarantee convergence do not hold. Finally, we consider some extensions and generalizations to the WALRAS algorithm. Citation Copyright 1998 by Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)