Equilibrium versus the Invisible Hand

Randall Holcombe

The Review of Austrian Economics, 1999, vol. 12, issue 2, 227-43

Abstract: Twentieth century equilibrium modeling depicts an end state toward which an economy tends, whereas the invisible hand, as Adam Smith depicted it, suggests an economy continually progressing as an increased division of labor is produced by growing markets. Thus, there is an inherent tension between the concepts of an equilibrium outcome versus the invisible hand process. The paper discusses different concepts of equilibrium, and relates entrepreneurship to the invisible hand. The paper concludes that the invisible hand concept provides a more fruitful framework for economic analysis than the twentieth century equilibrium framework. Copyright 1999 by Kluwer Academic Publishers

Date: 1999
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