| dc.description.abstract | I AM deeply indebted to Ravindra H
Dhotakia for his most perceptive comments
'Maxi Devaluations and Cooper's
Hypothesis', EPW, November 23) on
my paper 'Cooper's Contractionary
Devaluation Hypothesis. A Note', EPW,
July 27) on two counts. First, it is always
gratifying for an author to have his work
read and reacted upon by someone whose
views matter. Second, for pointing out the
limitations on the use of infinitesimals in
analysing finite changes. Most theoretical
economists tend to fall into the sometimes
reprehensible habit of consideringe-changes
from an initial equilibrium, which requires
characterisation of the relevant functional
forms only in the neighbourhood of the
initial equilibrium. This would be
unexceptionable if either of two conditions
are met: (a) the functions are strictly
monotonic in the relevant range; or (b) the
changes being contemplated can reasonably
be assumed to be relatively small. If neither
is met, the results arising from the use of
differential calculus in the analysis become
suspect. | |
