The Economics of Increasing Returns

The Economics of Increasing Returns presents an authoritative collection of the most significant papers by leading scholars in this key area of economics. Increasing returns can change quite radically our view of how the economy operates. They make the economy seem more complicated and pose a challenge to the established wisdom. The papers in this volume cover the main areas in which the recognition of increasing returns makes a significant difference. They are arranged in six main sections: resource allocation and welfare economics, microfoundations of macroeconomics, product variety and imperfect competition, information and information technology, economic growth and international trade. Our understanding of economies with increasing returns is far from complete. This thought-provoking collection gives an insight into existing work on the subject and indicates those areas where further research would bear fruit.