The scope of the general equilibrium (GE) theory has so far been limited to the Walrasian tradition. Indeed, the theories of competitive equilibria and the core are nothing but the modern mathematical analysis of the economic ideas due to Walras, Edgeworth and Pareto. Consequently, recent books in this field are inclined to be heavily technical and mathematical.On the other hand, the modern GE theory has not completed the study of increasing returns and monopolistic competition, which belong to the alternative important stream of economic thought, namely the Marshallian tradition. This book aims to fill this gap, by proving the existence of a competitive equilibrium with increasing returns coming from externalities in a dynamic economy and a monopolistically competitive equilibrium with the technologies exhibiting increasing returns coming from a large set-up cost. Also intended as a basic graduate textbook on GE theory, it contains all the basic results and mathematical techniques in this field, such as measure theory, manifold theory and Banach space theory.A unique feature of the book compared to classical monographs on GE is its emphasis on the historical nature of the subject, and not only the mathematical nature. Students are expected to learn that those mathematically formidable techniques are indeed necessary for tackling many economic problems which have been significant not only in the mathematical or technical context, but also in the historical and traditional context./a

While traditional price theory has successfully elucidated national income distribution in a perfectly competitive economy, little is known today about the overall working of a noncompetitive economy. This book moves to remedy the imbalance by sketching a general equilibrium theory of a noncompetitive economy. Developing his theory in the world of the standard Leontief system, Hukukane Nikaido attempts to construct objective demand functions reflecting the interdependence of economic agents in the real world upon which the monopolist's control of prices or output ultimately depends. Originally published in 1975. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Economists such as Piero Sraffa, Joan Robinson, and Edward Chamberlin thus began to develop monopolistic competition theory in order to raise theory's empirical relevance as well as its analytical sharpness.

This is an excerpt from the 4-volume dictionary of economics, a reference book which aims to define the subject of economics today. 1300 subject entries in the complete work cover the broad themes of economic theory. This extract concentrates on the topic of general equilibrium.