Abstract
Competitive equilibria are Pareto optimal when they exist if preferences are locally non-satiated and if externalities are not present in the economy. Why externalities upset the first fundamental theorem of welfare economics and which economic policies can remedy this failure are the major questions addressed below.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, 1st edition, 1987. Edited by John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman
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Laffont, J.J. (1987). Externalities. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_126-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_126-1
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5
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Chapter history
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Latest
Externalities- Published:
- 13 March 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_126-2
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Original
Externalities- Published:
- 18 October 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_126-1