ABSTRACT
Equilibrium-based theorizing treats competition as a structure or pattern of observations at some instant, as illustrated by the discussion at the end of Chapter 5. Competition is a structural feature whose intensity is a function of the number of firms who are judged to be competitors in what is judged to be an industry. The object of such a theory of competition is to establish a relationship between market price and market structure, and with market structure denoted by the number of competitors in some objectively defined industry. Without doubt, this approach to competition operates through antitrust law and procedures to increase the demand for economists to testify as to the intensity of competition associated with particular industry structures or firm practices.
