Competition and Markets

Abstract

In Adam Smith’s view of the working of the invisible hand, competition plays a crucial role. Competition counters greed and by so doing ensures the provision of goods and services at relatively reasonable prices. More generally, there is a popular belief in competition as a dynamic process leading to greater efficiency and prosperity. It is regarded as a catalyst for new technologies and innovations while also weeding out the inefficient and antiquated. To economists and social Darwinists, competition and competitive markets have beneficiai economic and social properties.