One of the usual assumptions in economic theory is that an entity called a commodity can be measured or that the amount of it can be represented by any real number. The functions (or other types of mapping) with which the economist deals, such as production functions, demand curves, and cost functions are assumed to be defined for real number arrays and to behave properly with respect to various criteria of continuity. Assumptions of this sort imply an acceptance of commodity divisibility. However, it is possible that in many instances indivisible rather than divisible commodities are the more relevant factors. This book incorporates the notion of indivisibility in a limited way into an analysis of production and allocation in the belief that there is a large class of problems for which this type of analysis is relevant.
Originally published in 1969.
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