Antoine Augustin Cournot

Antoine Augustin Cournot was a 19th-century French economist and mathematician who pioneered the analysis of how markets work. He introduced the concept of competition among firms, especially in imperfect markets, and developed models to understand how prices and quantities are determined through strategic interactions. His work laid the foundation for modern microeconomics, including the study of monopolies and oligopolies. Cournot's approach uses mathematics to explain economic behavior, helping economists analyze how companies make decisions and how these decisions influence prices and supply in the market.