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On Monopolistic Competition and Involuntary Unemployment

Author

Listed:
  • Claude d'Aspremont
  • Rodolphe Dos Santos Ferreira
  • Louis-André Gérard-Varet

Abstract

In a simple temporary general equilibrium model, it is shown that, if the number of firms is small, imperfect price competition in the markets for goods may be responsible for the existence of unemployment at any given positive wage. In our examples involving two firms facing their "true" demand curves, total monopolistic labor demand remains bounded as the wage rate goes to zero, and unemployment prevails for a sufficiently large inelastic labor supply. In the competitive case total labor demand would go to infinity and intersect labor supply at a positive wage.

Suggested Citation

  • Claude d'Aspremont & Rodolphe Dos Santos Ferreira & Louis-André Gérard-Varet, 1990. "On Monopolistic Competition and Involuntary Unemployment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(4), pages 895-919.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:qjecon:v:105:y:1990:i:4:p:895-919.
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    Cited by:

    1. d'Aspremont, Claude & Dos Santos Ferreira, Rodolphe & Gerard-Varet, Louis-Andre, 1997. "General Equilibrium Concepts under Imperfect Competition: A Cournotian Approach," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 199-230, March.
    2. José Azar & Xavier Vives, 2018. "Oligopoly, Macroeconomic Performance, and Competition Policy," CESifo Working Paper Series 7189, CESifo.
    3. Mario Amendola & Jean‐Luc Gaffard & Francesco Saraceno, 2004. "Wage Flexibility and Unemployment: The Keynesian Perspective Revisited," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 51(5), pages 654-674, November.
    4. Mario Amendola & Jean-Luc Gaffard & Francesco Saraceno, 2001. "Wage Flexibility and Unemployment : the Keynesian Perspective Revisited," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-01064972, HAL.
    5. Claude d’Aspremont & Rodolphe Dos Santos Ferreira, 2016. "Oligopolistic vs. monopolistic competition: Do intersectoral effects matter?," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 62(1), pages 299-324, June.
    6. Julien, Ludovic A., 2011. "Unemployment equilibrium and economic policy in mixed markets," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 1931-1940, July.
    7. André Zylberberg, 1990. "Salaires et emploi dans une économie de partage," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 92(1), pages 153-160.
    8. d’Aspremont, Claude & Dos Santos Ferreira, Rodolphe, 2017. "The Dixit–Stiglitz economy with a ‘small group’ of firms: A simple and robust equilibrium markup formula," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 729-739.
    9. Maarten C.W. Janssen, 2006. "Microfoundations," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 06-041/1, Tinbergen Institute.
    10. Reto Foellmi & Josef Zweim ller, 2010. "Mass versus Exclusive Goods, and Formal-Sector Employment," Diskussionsschriften dp1005, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    11. Auerbach, Alan J. & Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Murphy, Daniel, 2021. "Inequality, fiscal policy and COVID19 restrictions in a demand-determined economy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    12. Oliver Budzinski & Jürgen-Peter Kretschmer, 2009. "Horizontal Mergers, Involuntary Unemployment, and Welfare," MAGKS Papers on Economics 200907, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    13. Murata, Yasusada, 2002. "Rural-urban interdependence and industrialization," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 1-34, June.
    14. Vera Ivanova & Philip Ushchev, 2019. "Product Differentiation, Competitive Toughness, and Intertemporal Substitution," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 121(3), pages 1244-1269, July.
    15. Vera Ivanova & Philip Ushchev, 2015. "When Ricardo Meets Chamberlin: A Simple Dynamic Model Of Monopolistic Competition," HSE Working papers WP BRP 99/EC/2015, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    16. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6763 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Laurence S. Lasselle & Serge A. Svizzero, 2002. "Involuntary Unemplyment in Imperfectly Competitive General Equilibrium Models," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(4), pages 487-507, September.
    18. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/6763 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Zweimüller, Josef & Foellmi, Reto, 2006. "Mass Consumption, Exclusion and Unemployment," CEPR Discussion Papers 5824, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6763 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Pasquale Commendatore & Ingrid Kubin, 2009. "Dynamic effects of regulation and deregulation in goods and labour markets," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 61(3), pages 517-537, July.
    22. Hiroyuki Nishiyama & Yasuhiro Gintani, 2013. "The Effects of Globalization on the Elasticity of Labor Demand and Employment," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 11-23, March.
    23. Amedeo Panci, 1999. "Multiple equilibria: coordination failure and endogenous cycle," Working Papers in Public Economics 30, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.
    24. Rankin, Neil, 1995. "Money in Hart's model of imperfect competition," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 557-575, September.

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