Collected Papers of Kenneth J. Arrow, Volume 2: General Equilibrium

by Kenneth J. Arrow

Overview

Unlike the papers of some other great economists, those of Kenneth Arrow are being read and studied today with even greater care and attention than when they first appeared in journals. This publication of his collected papers, to be completed in seven topical volumes, will be welcomed by economists and other social scientists and in particular by graduate students, who can draw from them the deep knowledge and taste in the selection of scientific problems that only a master can offer.

This volume is concerned with the foundations of neo-classical economic analysis. General equilibrium is a theory of prices in which all of the actions of the economic agents in an economy are determined simultaneously and in a decentralized fashion. The price system, determined in competitive markets, guides actions for both firms and individual consumers. All of the complex interrelations of the economy are distilled into the determination of this price system.

In these papers, Arrow examines the conditions under which such a price system would exist. He also clarifies the conditions under which the system can or cannot achieve an optimum. In the latter case, when “market failures” are present, he shows the role of a benevolent government in helping to overcome the induced inefficiencies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674137615
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	03/09/1984
Series:	Collected Papers of Kenneth J. Arrow Series , #2
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

A past president of the American Economic Association, Kenneth J. Arrow was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science in 1972.

Table of Contents

Alternative Proof of the Substitution Theorem for Leontief Models in the General Case

An Extension of the Basic Theorems of Classical Welfare Economics

The Role of Securities in the Optimal Allocation of Risk Bearing

Existence of an Equilibrium for a Competitive Economy

Import Substitution in Leontief Models

Economic Equilibrium

The Organization of Economic Activity: Issues Pertinent to the Choice of Market versus Nonmarket Allocation

The Firm in General Equilibrium Theory

General Economic Equilibrium: Purpose, Analytic Techniques, Collective Choice

Cost-theoretical and Demand-theoretical Approaches to the Theory of Price Determination

The Genesis of Dynamic Systems Governed by Metzler Matrices

Quantity Adjustments in Resource Allocation: A Statistical Interpretation

The Future and the Present in Economic Life

Pareto Efficiency with Costly Transfers

Index