A Kaleckian Firm-Based Perspective on the Persistence of Oligopoly
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A Kaleckian Firm-Based Perspective on the Persistence of Oligopoly
Journal of Contextual Economics – Schmollers Jahrbuch, Online First : pp. 1–23
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Nobantu Mbeki, School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Abstract
Theories of monopoly capitalism integrate microeconomic and macroeconomic elements to account for the behaviour of firms. The modern corporation is the unit of analysis at the firm, industry, and macroeconomic levels. This changes the analysis in at least two fundamental ways. First, oligopoly is the dominant market structure. Second, perfect competition is absent in the analysis. This article builds on these features but offers a firm-level explanation for these effects. It proposes that they are the outcome of how firms impose stability in an instability-prone environment.