In economics, the Edgeworth paradox describes a situation in which two players cannot reach a state of equilibrium with pure strategies, i.e. each charging a stable price.
Suppose two companies, A and B, sell an identical commodity product, and that customers choose the product solely on the basis of price. Each company faces capacity constraints, in that on its own it cannot satisfy demand at its zero-profit price, but together they can more than satisfy such demand.
Unlike the Bertrand paradox, the situation of both companies charging zero-profit prices is not an equilibrium, since either company can raise its price and generate profits. Nor is the situation where one company charges less than the other an equilibrium, since the lower price company can profitably raise its price towards the higher price company's price. Nor is the situation where both companies charge the same positive-profit price, since either company can then lower its price marginally and profitably capture more of the market.
Famous quotes containing the word paradox:
“The conclusion suggested by these arguments might be called the paradox of theorizing. It asserts that if the terms and the general principles of a scientific theory serve their purpose, i. e., if they establish the definite connections among observable phenomena, then they can be dispensed with since any chain of laws and interpretive statements establishing such a connection should then be replaceable by a law which directly links observational antecedents to observational consequents.”
—C.G. (Carl Gustav)