Structure and Problems of Equilibrium and Disequilibrium Theory

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct two of the most important theories in economics since the early stages from Adam Smith up to the present days by means of the new structuralist view as it has been developed by Sneed, Stegmüller and others. Those theories are the famous Walrasian-general equilibrium theory in its refined version of Arrow-Debreu on the one hand and a recently developed version of disequilibrium theory — which can be seen as an elaboration of Keynes’ vision of an underemploymend equilibrium — on the other hand. Although general equilibrium theory (GET) and disequilibrium theory (DET) are by no means the only theories presently in use — Marxian economics and game theory should be mentioned in this context as leading examples — it is claimed that they are standing in the centre of almost all policy oriented economic theorizing (for some economists it is even questionable whether e.g. Marxian economics is nothing else than a special case of either GET or DET; an answer to this question is clearly beyond this paper).KeywordsUtility FunctionEquilibrium TheoryInitial EndowmentPrice StructurePerfect CompetitionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.