Abstract

This paper investigates the limit properties of a sequence of competitive outcomes existing for economies where all commodities are indivisible, as indivisibility vanishes. The nature of this limit depends on whether the ``strong survival assumption'' is assumed or not in the limit economy, a standard ``convex economy''. If this condition holds, then the equilibrium sequence converges to a Walras equilibrium for the convex economy; otherwise it converges to a hierarchic equilibrium, a competitive outcome existing in this economy despite the fact that a Walras equilibrium might not exist.