Partial equilibrium analysis

Definition

Partial equilibrium analysis is the analysis of the interaction between buyers and sellers in the market for a particular good, the equilibrium price (the market price), and whether and how quickly the price converges to this market price, ceteris paribus all other things in the economy (in particular, the prices and quantities demanded and supplied of other commodities, the incomes and wealth of the buyers and sellers, etc.). This is in contrast to general equilibrium analysis, which studies (in a simplistic model of perfect information, zero transaction costs, and rational behavior) the simultaneous interaction of prices and quantity demanded/supplied of a range of goods in the market.