Bilateral Monopoly: A Contribution by Francesco Ferrara

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an interpretation of the application of "cost of reproduction" of Francesco Ferrara to the exchange between two agents to highlight its relevance for the theory of bilateral monopoly. In the Teoria delle Mercedi (1863), Ferrara gives a numerical example to explain price determination in the exchange between one buyer and one seller. Here, this example is translated into a mathematical model that reproduces the fundamental issues of the neoclassical debate on the indeterminacy of price in the Cournot model (1938), and anticipates the solutions proposed by Edgeworth (1881) at the end of this debate.