Abstract
Marshall introduced the idea of ‘internal’ economies, which accompany the growth of the ‘individual representative firm’, as opposed to the ‘external’ economies accompanying the growth of ‘a national or a local industry’. In principle the pursuit of internal economies would lead to a world composed of firms each one producing a great share of a very small range of commodities. But while Marshall shared the classical view of an increasing average size of the business unit, he put it into a dynamical and historical context. Tendencies and countertendencies may result in different outcomes in terms of market structures.
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Bibliography
Jenner, R.A. 1964. The dynamic factor in Marshall’s economic system. Western Economic Journal 3 (1): 21–38.
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Marshall, A. 1890. Principles of economics, ed. C.W. Guillebaud. 9th (Variorum) edn, 2 vols. London: Macmillan, 1961.
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Becattini, G. (2018). Internal Economies. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_965
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_965
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