Date of Award
1982
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Scheidell, John M.
Abstract
In classical economic theory, competition consisted of buyers outbidding one another and sellers underbidding one another; and it was argued that, for sufficiently large markets, competition would yield uniform prices in equilibrium. Neoclassical economists subsequently investigated the role of preferences in trading, concluding that, in equilibrium, each trader would obtain the most desirable commodity bundle affordable at prevailing prices, given his initial resources. In the process, however, neoclassical economists ultimately made price uniformity an assumption, assumed individuals incapable of influencing prices under any circumstances, and redefined competition to mean price-taking behavior. By thus denying individuals any active role in price determination, an inconsistency was introduced into the theory. This thesis eliminates the inconsistency by combining classical competitive behavior and the neoclassical insights into the role of preferences, to produce an axiomatic theory of competition within which the characteristics of equilibrium (uniform prices and utility maximization) are rigorously derived.
Extent
95 p.
Recommended Citation
HORNER, GEORGE FRENCH JR, "COMPETITION AND PRICES IN A PERFECTLY COMPETITIVE ECONOMY" (1982). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 1980 - 1989. 151.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_3/151
Identifier
FADT14128
Comments
College of Business|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1982.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|College of Business