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Perfect markets and perfect information | blogjou

Murray Gell-Mann

The Quark and the Jaguar

321/322
20 May 2024

Perfect markets and perfect information


In a story that has long circulated among economists, a neo-classical theorist and his well-behaved little granddaughter are walking along the street in a large American city. The girl spots a twenty-dollar bill on the pavement and, being very polite, asks her grandfather if it is all right to pick it up. “No, Dear”, he replies, “if it were real someone would already have picked it up.”