Economics Of Imperfect Competition

This new approach to traditional price theory and to the analysis of imperfect competition represents a breakthrough in the development of a "new" microeconomic theory. Addresses issues in price theory, industrial organization, international trade and regional urban economics.

This and its companion volume, "The Economics of Imperfect Competition and Employment", are about Joan Robinson, her impact on modern economics, her challenges and critiques and the advances made in the science and art of economics.

The first textbook to present a comprehensive and detailed economic analysis of electricity markets, analyzing the tensions between microeconomics and political economy. The power industry is essential in our fight against climate change. This book is the first to examine in detail the microeconomics underlying power markets, stemming from peak-load pricing, by which prices are low when the installed generation capacity exceeds demand but can rise a hundred times higher when demand is equal to installed capacity. The outcome of peak-load pricing is often difficult to accept politically, and the book explores the tensions between microeconomics and political economy. Understanding peak-load pricing and its implications is essential for designing robust policies and making sound investment decisions. Thomas-Olivier Léautier presents the model in its simplest form, and introduces additional features as different issues are presented. The book covers all segments of electricity markets: electricity generation, under perfect and imperfect competition; retail competition and demand response; transmission pricing, transmission congestion management, and transmission constraints; and the current policy issues arising from the entry of renewables into the market and capacity mechanisms. Combining anecdotes and analysis of real situations with rigorous analytical modeling, each chapter analyzes one specific issue, first presenting findings in nontechnical terms accessible to policy practitioners and graduate students in management or public policy and then presenting a more mathematical analytical exposition for students and researchers specializing in the economics of electricity markets and for those who want to understand and apply the underlying models.

This study and its companion, "Joan Robinson and Economic Theory" looks at Joan Robinson, her impact upon modern economics, her challenges and critiques, and the advances made in the science and art of economics. It studies her ideas, themes and concerns from many different perspectives.

New goods are at the heart of economic progress. The eleven essays in this volume include historical treatments of new goods and their diffusion; practical exercises in measurement addressed to recent and ongoing innovations; and real-world methods of devising quantitative adjustments for quality change. The lead article in Part I contains a striking analysis of the history of light over two millenia. Other essays in Part I develop new price indexes for automobiles back to 1906; trace the role of the air conditioner in the development of the American south; and treat the germ theory of disease as an economic innovation. In Part II essays measure the economic impact of more recent innovations, including anti-ulcer drugs, new breakfast cereals, and computers. Part III explores methods and defects in the treatment of quality change in the official price data of the United States, Canada, and Japan. This pathbreaking volume will interest anyone who studies economic growth, productivity, and the American standard of living.

A theoretical analysis of international trade and industrial policy, developing and using new models of trade with imperfect competition. Modeling of imperfect competition within international trade has been difficult until recent breakthroughs in this area, which have provided a more realistic view of the world economy. The book builds on the advances provided by such tools as game theory and the theory of monopolistic competition. The first section covers broad and basic trade issues which arise under imperfect competition. Section two examines implications for trade policy covering issues such as strategic trade policy in static and dynamic settings. Section three deals with various structural issues, such as optimal choice of trade liberalizing policies, the formation of trade blocks, and open dualistic economy with externalities.