Table Of ContentMarket Structure and Equilibrium
.
Heinrich von Stackelberg
Market Structure
and Equilibrium
Translated by Damien Bazin (Scientific Director),
Lynn Urch and Rowland Hill
HeinrichvonStackelberg
1905–1946
ProfessorofEconomics
UniversityofBonn
Bonn
Germany
Translators
Dr.DamienBazin LynnUrch
UniversityofNiceSophiaAntipolis 3RitchiePlace
HigherInstituteofEconomicsand WestMoors
Management Ferndown
DepartmentofHumanScience DorsetBH220LN
CampusSaintJeand’Angely UnitedKingdom
24AvenuedesDiablesBleus [email protected]
06300Nice
France
[email protected]
RowlandHill
Interlink
2rueGastonDoumergue
85180LeChaˆteaud’Olonne
France
[email protected]
TranslationfromtheGermanlanguageedition:
"MarktformundGleichgewicht"byHeinrichvonStackelberg
#Springer-VerlagWienNewYork1934,allrightsreserved.
ISBN978-3-642-12585-0 e-ISBN978-3-642-12586-7
DOI10.1007/978-3-642-12586-7
SpringerHeidelbergDordrechtLondonNewYork
#Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2011
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.Allrightsarereserved,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerialis
concerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation,broadcasting,
reproductiononmicrofilmorinanyotherway,andstorageindatabanks.Duplicationofthispublication
orpartsthereofispermittedonlyundertheprovisionsoftheGermanCopyrightLawofSeptember9,
1965,initscurrentversion,andpermissionforusemustalwaysbeobtainedfromSpringer.Violations
areliabletoprosecutionundertheGermanCopyrightLaw.
Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,etc.inthispublicationdoesnot
imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
Coverdesign:WMXDesignGmbH,Heidelberg,Germany
Printedonacid-freepaper
SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com)
Tomywife,Isabelle,withlove.
.
About the Translators
Damien BAZIN, PhD in Economics, is Assistant
Professor (Accreditation to Supervise Research) in
EconomicsattheUniversityofNiceSophiaAntipolis,
France.AfterpostdoctoralstudiesinCanadaandmis-
sions in China (program of the European Union), he
joined CEMAFI (Center of Macro Dynamic and In-
ternational Finance) in 2007 and is now co-director.
He conducts research on Macroeconomics and Sus-
tainableDevelopment.Hisfieldsofspecializationare
many and varied, including Ecology, Ethical and
EnvironmentalEconomy,Macroeconomics,Corporate
Ethics, and topics related to Socially Sustainable
Development.
AtpresentheispartofaworkshopoftheCEMAFIwhosemainresearchfieldis
socialmacroeconomicsinopeneconomy (employment,unemployment,pensions,
disparities, and poverty). He develops projects in the ISEM (Higher Institue of
EconomicsandManagement) whosedirectapplications arefound withinecologi-
cal economics and game theory. He provides lectures on company ethics in
prestigiousParisianbusinessschools.Hislatestworksarerelatedtotheprotection
of nature and to economic ethics. He regularly collaborates with national daily
paperswiththeaimofpopularizingfundamentalresearch.Homepage:http://www.
unice.fr/CEMAFI/
vii
viii AbouttheTranslators
Lynn Urch is a Qualified Member of the Chartered
InstituteofLinguistsandhasaneconomicsbackground.
She was educated in translation and modern languages
attheUniversityofHullandtheUniversityoftheWest
ofEnglandandisafreelancetranslatorofGermanand
FrenchintoEnglish.
Originally from Northern Ireland, Rowland Hill is
aneconomicsgraduatewhohasmanagedasmalltrans-
lationandtraining agencyon thewestcoast ofFrance
since2002.Beforethathewasheadteacherofaspecial
schoolinLondon.
Comments On The Translation
The idea of translating the work of German economist Heinrich Freiherr von
Stackelberg (1905–1946) came to me as I was teaching international economics
and economic game theory in a university context. My students constantly con-
found the concepts of monopoly, oligopoly (simple, bilateral or contested) and
oligopsony, but also the concept of perfect competition. This inability to classify
the different markets reappeared when I was teaching abroad. Rather than cast
doubt on the aptitudes of my students to understand, I chose to examine my own
approachasateacher.Onaskingmylearnedcolleaguesiftheytoohadexperienced
this phenomenon in their teaching, it came as no surprise to me when they
respondedthatunfortunatelyStackelberg’sfamousmarketclassificationtablewas
onlymemorisedbytheirstudentsforalimitedperiod.Itistruethatourmemories
are selective and that something learned out of context is not internalised
and indeed often quickly forgotten. If we support Nicolas Boileau’s view then,
"Whatever we conceive well we express clearly, and words flow with ease"
(anextract fromArtpoe´tique).Thisquotecontainsadegreeoftruth.Mystudents
did not have the means to assimilate how and why the problems associated with
competitionandtheeffectiveorganisationofmarketswereofkeyimportanceand
remainvitaltothisday.
WhenweundertooktotranslateMarktformundGleichgewichtmyfirstgoalwas
tomakethefoundingconceptsofHeinrichFreiherrvonStackelbergmoreaccessi-
ble.Suchanaccesswouldhavetostemfromthecontextualisationoftheauthor’s
thinking as this would enable us to find the paths he followed and the intrinsic
reasonsthatmotivatedhimtopresenthisownparticularviewofmoderneconomics.
In a more specific sense, his vision of the world in relation to what influences
competition was refined by way of dyopoly (duopoly) models. Stackelberg both
revisits the work of the French mathematician-economists Antoine Augustin
Cournot and Joseph Louis Franc¸ois Bertrand and provides a perspective on the
subject of conjectural interdependence (situational issues involving company
leadersandsatellitecompanies).
ix
x CommentsOnTheTranslation
If the intention of this translation project is to highlight one of the cornerstone
pieces of work in Economic Science, it has to be added that this book would not
have seen the light of day but for the skill and enthusiasm of other professionals
who from the outset were willing to participate in the project. I would like to
acknowledgetheworkofLynnUrchandRowlandHillwhocollaboratedfullyon
thetranslationofthebook.Indeed,thescaleofthework,itsconceptualrichness,the
useofveryspecificandtechnicalterms,butinadditionthedifficultyininterpreta-
tion led us to work together as an academic team throughout.Their valuable help
with the German and the English has more than amply contributed to the success
andtothefullnessofthistranslation,whichcouldnothavebeenachievedwithout
regular exchange, suggestions and necessary improvements. I would also like to
thank Barbara Fess, Dr. Werner A Mu¨ller and Dr. Martina Bihn from Springer
PublishingCompanyfortheirconfidence.Naturally,asascienceresearcherIhadto
makebothscientificandlinguisticdecisionsinordertopreservethewholenessof
the book; I take full responsibility for these choices. By deciding to translate this
pivotal text from German to English and hence make it available to many more
readers,wehopeinsomesmallwaytobeabletoofferanewinsight.
Nevertheless, the reader needs to be aware of the risks involved in translating
anywork.Totranslateistounequivocallyacceptthelikelihoodofsubjectivityand
hence the risk of a subjective interpretation of the author’s words, even if all
attempts have been made to remain as faithful as possible to the original text.
Weaimedto"staytrue"totheGermanoneveryoccasionandwherelexicalchoices
howeverdidhavetobemadetheyweremadeinordertofacilitatetheeaseofaccess
tothebookbythereader.Inaspiritofcandidnesswewishtomakethisclearright
fromthestart.
Dr.DamienBazin
