The positive resolution of the microeconomic problem of market demand: issues of methodology and verification

The problem of consumer demand in modern (micro)economic theory is that this theory contains a normative theory of individual demand, but does not contain a positive theory of market demand – an object of real interest for economists-practitioners and governments. This failure has led to failures in equilibrium theory and applied demand analysis. The article presents a methodological analysis of this demand problem, created within the framework of general scientific methodology and with rejection of the individual demand theory. The studying object of this theory, is a fuzzy set of market buyers regarded as a holistic object and called the ‘statistical ensemble of consumers.’ This theory formally retains the individual demand theory, but it is a positive theory verifiable by trade statistics. The verification method of the theory is a development of the Afriat-Varian non-parametric one with the simultaneous calculation of economic indexes reflecting the population preferences.