The analysis of exchange and the gains from trade in the context of price taking behaviour are the subject of the first part of the book. Special attention is given to general equilibrium supply and demand curves and, in contrast with partial equilibrium treatments, the possibility of multiple equilibria. Trading at disequilibrium prices, the influence of the numbers of traders and bargaining solutions are then discussed before production is added to the analysis and the two sector model constructed.

General Equilibrium and Welfare will be welcomed for its accessible introduction to General Equilibrium analysis and for the strong emphasis it places on exchange, which is closely in line with the work of early neoclassical writers such as Jevons, Walras, Edgeworth and Wicksell.