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The classical notion of competition revisited

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  • Salvadori, Neri
  • Signorino, Rodolfo

Abstract

We compare and analyse two different conceptions of market competition: the walrasian notion of perfect competition and the Classical notion of free competition: while the former may be described as an equilibrium state in which atomistic agents treat prices parametrically, the latter is a situation in which agents, endowed by market power, fix prices strategically. We show that price undercutting or outbidding are the typical phenomena that, for the Classical authors, may be observed in a market characterized by free competition. We investigate some problematic aspects of the neoclassical notion of perfect competition and we reconstruct the Classical theory of free competition, as developed, in particular, by Adam Smith and Karl Marx, in the light of the modern notion of mixed strategies equilibria.

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  • Salvadori, Neri & Signorino, Rodolfo, 2010. "The classical notion of competition revisited," MPRA Paper 22499, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:22499
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Saverio M. Fratini & Alessia Naccarato, 2016. "The Gravitation of Market Prices as A Stochastic Process," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(4), pages 698-716, November.
    2. Signorino, Rodolfo, 2011. "David Ricardo on natural and market prices," MPRA Paper 39212, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Neri Salvadori & Rodolfo Signorino, 2016. "Competition," Chapters, in: Gilbert Faccarello & Heinz D. Kurz (ed.), Handbook on the History of Economic Analysis Volume III, chapter 6, pages 70-81, Edward Elgar Publishing.
      • Salvadori, Neri & Signorino, Rodolfo, 2011. "Competition," MPRA Paper 38387, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Huang, Biao, 2022. "On the Over-determination Problem in a Two Sector Neo-Kaleckian Model," Centro Sraffa Working Papers CSWP56, Centro di Ricerche e Documentazione "Piero Sraffa".
    5. Kiedrowski, Roman, 2018. "Profit rates equalization and balanced growth in a multi-sector model of classical competition," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 39-53.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Classical Economics; Competition; Adam Smith; Karl Marx; mixed strategies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B12 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Classical (includes Adam Smith)
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

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