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Unemployment in a Cournot Oligopoly Model with Ford Effects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2016

Claude d’Aspremont
Affiliation:
CORE, Université Catholique de Louvain
Rodolphe Dos Santos Ferreira
Affiliation:
BETA, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg
Louis-André Gérard-Varet
Affiliation:
GREQE, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Marseille
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Summary

A simple general equilibrium model of imperfect competition is introduced with special attention given to the labour market. An extended Cournot equilibrium is defined for any money wage taken as given by the producers. Under some assumptions involuntary unemployment may arise, that is unemployment whatever the given money wage. Specific examples are considered.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article analyse un modèle simple d’équilibre général en concurrence imparfaite en accordant une attention particulière au marché du travail. Un équilibre étendu de Cournot est défini pour chaque niveau de salaire nominal proposé par les producteurs. Sous certaines conditions, on peut obtenir du chômage involontaire, c’est-à-dire un équilibre avec chômage, quel que soit le niveau de salaire nominal donné. Quelques exemples spécifiques sont considérés.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de recherches économiques et sociales 1989 

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Footnotes

*

We thank P. Champsaur, P. Dehez, J. H. Drèze and J.-J. Laffont for helpful comments on an earlier version (CORE D.P. 8408). We owe P. Dehez the idea of a light strenghtening of the results on involuntary unemployment given there: see Dehez (1985), where the case of monopoly is studied. We also thank an anonymous referee and R. Gary-Bobo for useful comments on the present version. This work is part of the program “Micro-décisions et politique économique” of Commissariat Général au Plan. Financial support of Commissariat Général au Plan is gratefully acknowledged.

References

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