The Arrow-Debreu Model is a fundamental concept in general equilibrium theory that describes how markets can achieve an efficient allocation of resources under certain conditions. Developed by economists Kenneth Arrow and Gérard Debreu in the 1950s, the model operates under the assumption of perfect competition, complete markets, and the absence of externalities. It posits that in a competitive economy, consumers maximize their utility subject to budget constraints, while firms maximize profits by producing goods at minimum cost.
The model demonstrates that under these ideal conditions, there exists a set of prices that equates supply and demand across all markets, leading to an Pareto efficient allocation of resources. Mathematically, this can be represented as finding a price vector such that:
where is the quantity supplied by producers and is the quantity demanded by consumers. The model also emphasizes the importance of state-contingent claims, allowing agents to hedge against uncertainty in future states of the world, which adds depth to the understanding of risk in economic transactions.
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