[OPE-L:7030] [OPE-L:525] Re: Re: Law of one price and equilibrium

Tsoulfidis Lefteris (lefteris@uom.gr)
Fri, 26 Feb 1999 10:33:08 +0200

Patrick L. Mason wrote:
>
> Friends:
>
> Recently, I had cause to check on the origin of the law of one price. Since
> I couldn't find a reference in my office, I walked down the hall to check
> with Phil Mirowsky. According to Phil, the law of one price is a
> neoclassical concept and makes no sense in the context of classical
> economics. I think he told me the law of one price originated with Pareto.
> Certainly, this so-called law has no place in the economics of Marx.

The law of one price (LOP) can be found in Marx vol. III p.865.

The diffrence of course is interpretation of the LOP. The neoclassical
interpetation would be just a single price that every producer sells his
product, as is the case with perfect competition. Marx's interpration is
a rather narrow spectrum of prices that the majority of firms in an
industry are forced to sell because of competitive pressures. Of course,
some firms can sell at different prices because of location, customers
loyalty etc.

The law of one price, with the above qualifications, I guess can also be
found in the writings of classical economists.

Lefteris Tsoulfidis