期刊名称：Discussion Paper Series / Department of Economics, Monash University
出版年度：2010
卷号：1
出版社：Monash University
摘要：This paper is aimed to provide an economic interpretation on the emergence and evolution of
the specialised middlemen whose duty is to facilitate the transactions of goods and services in
an economy. In a general equilibrium framework, the emergence and evolution of the
specialised middlemen conforms to Adam Smith’s insight of deepening specialisation and the
division of labour with the improvement in institutions and/or transaction technologies.
Consequently, the emergence and the growth of the intermediation sector in both absolute
and relative terms, the expansion of the network which provides transaction services, the
evolution of market structure from autarky towards division of labour, the improvement in
productivity, the reduction in wholesaling-retailing price dispersion, will be realised in
concurrency
