The Complexity of Exchange

Robert Axtell

Economic Journal, 2005, vol. 115, issue 504, F193-F210

Abstract: The computational complexity of two classes of market mechanisms is compared. First the Walrasian interpretation in which prices are centrally computed by an auctioneer. Recent results on the "computational complexity" are reviewed. The "non"-"polynomial complexity" of these algorithms makes Walrasian general equilibrium an "implausible" conception. Second, a "decentralised" picture of market processes is described, involving concurrent exchange within transient coalitions of agents. These processes feature "price dispersion", yield allocations that are "not in the core", modify the "distribution of wealth", are always "stable", but "path"-"dependent." Replacing the Walrasian framing of markets requires substantial revision of conventional wisdom concerning markets. Copyright 2005 Royal Economic Society.

Date: 2005
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Working Paper: The Complexity of Exchange (1999)
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