Hostage to Fortune: Edward Chamberlin and the Reception of The Theory of Monopolistic Competition

Nahid Aslanbeigui and Guy Oakes

History of Political Economy, 2011, vol. 43, issue 3, 471-512

Abstract: In February 1933, Edward Chamberlin published The Theory of Monopolistic Competition. Joan Robinson's The Economics of Imperfect Competition followed in the spring. A disciplinary consensus quickly formed, holding that the two books represented simultaneous discoveries of the same theoretical ideas and covered the same ground. Chamberlin was adamant in insisting on fundamental differences between their positions. Convinced of the superior explanatory power of his work, he devoted much of his post-Monopolistic Competition career laboring to reverse the disciplinary consensus. We analyze the main tactics he employed in attempting to gain control of the reception of his theory and consider why they failed.

Keywords: Edward Chamberlin; monopolistic competition; Joan Robinson (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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