Pure joint production

Abstract

The gap between the behavior of single and multiple-product systems is illustrated by numerical examples and simple economic arguments. It appears that none of the usual laws of single-product systems holds true in pure joint production, even in the framework studied by B. Schefold. In a more general case, the number of operated methods may fall short of that of commodities and the very notion of prices of production is at stake. Schefold's analysis is thus challenged. The study of pure joint production also sets a number of methodological questions which are fundamental for post-Sraffian economics. Copyright 1997 by Oxford University Press.