Abstract

The objective of this article is to formulate a representation of the price formation
process which is satisfactorily general, and independent of the special characteristics
propitiated by an occasional situation of low instability, as is implicit in the particular
representation synthesized in the rule of a fixed mark-up over direct costs. First of all,
the article presents a synthesis of the main arguments presented by post-Keynesians on
what the author calls the strategic determination of desired mark-ups. He then set out to
recuperate the concept of user costs developed by Keynes and which, in his opinion, is
well-suited for representing the expectational determination of desired mark-ups. Finally,
the author proposes an analytical integration of these two determinations, given a set of market and economic structures. This integration is summarized in a general formula for
desired mark-ups.

JEL Classification: D43.