均衡價格與場

1、Chapter Three Equilibrium Price and Market第3章均衡價格與市場市場是由供求雙方共同構(gòu)成的。利用價格決定理論研究市場供 求關(guān)系，由此來分析解決資源合理配置問題，是微觀經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)研 究的中心內(nèi)容。在研究了需求、供給之后，就必須要討論和研 究價格與市場問題。本章內(nèi)容要點是市場與市場經(jīng)濟(jì)的特點， 均衡價格的含義及其形成過程，市場的類型，市場的建設(shè)，期 貨市場的特點與功能。3.1 Characteristics and Construction Methods of MarketEconomy市場經(jīng)濟(jì)的特點與建設(shè)措施一、市場及其構(gòu)成要素（一）什么是市場Market

2、The interaction between buyers and sellers.所謂市場，從狹義上講，是指商品交換的場所；從廣義上講, 市場是商品交換關(guān)系的總和。從前一層含義來說，市場可以是 集貿(mào)市場或?qū)I(yè)商品市場，具體地講可以是一個集市、一個商 店或一個貿(mào)易貨棧等；從后一層含義來講，市場是所有的商品 生產(chǎn)者和交換者的商品交換關(guān)系的集合。（二）市場的構(gòu)成要素一般情況下，市場的構(gòu)成要素主要有三個：一是有某種需要的 人；二是具有能夠滿足這種需要的購買能力；三是購買欲望。 如果把市場的要素構(gòu)成用公式表示就是：市場=人口+購買力 +購買欲望。市場的這三個因素是相互制約的，缺一不可，只 有三者結(jié)合

3、起來，才能形成現(xiàn)實的市場，某一市場的規(guī)模和容 量是由這三者共同決定的。例如，一個地區(qū)人口比較多，購買 欲望很大，但收入水平很低，購買力很低，構(gòu)不成容量很大的 市場。又比如，居民收入水平很高，購買力雖然很強，但人口 數(shù)量很少，也不能構(gòu)成很大容量的市場。一個地區(qū)人口既多， 購買力又高，才能成為一個有潛力的大市場。但是，如果產(chǎn)品 不適合需要，不能引起人們的購買欲望，對銷售者來說，仍然 不能形成現(xiàn)實的市場。市場是三個構(gòu)成要素的有機統(tǒng)一體。二、市場經(jīng)濟(jì)的特點與類型（一）市場經(jīng)濟(jì)的特點Market economyAn economywhere all economic decisions are take

4、n by individual households and firms, and which relies on the price mechanism to allocate the resources.市場經(jīng)濟(jì)是一種用價格機制決定資源配置的經(jīng)濟(jì)體制。在這種 經(jīng)濟(jì)體制中，資源配置的決策由單個經(jīng)濟(jì)單位作出。機制一詞 原意是指機器構(gòu)造及其制動原理和運行規(guī)則。在這里，被用來 說明社會本身的運行、調(diào)節(jié)的方式和規(guī)律。價格機制又稱為市 場機制，是價格調(diào)節(jié)社會經(jīng)濟(jì)生活的方式和規(guī)律。價格機制包 括價格調(diào)節(jié)經(jīng)濟(jì)的條件，以及價格調(diào)節(jié)經(jīng)濟(jì)的方式。市場經(jīng)濟(jì) 有以下幾個方面的特點：1、企業(yè)是獨立的經(jīng)濟(jì)單位。企業(yè)是獨

5、立運用經(jīng)營要素，實行獨立經(jīng)營、獨立核算、自負(fù)盈 虧，以取得盈利為目的，具有法人地位的社會經(jīng)濟(jì)組織。在市 場經(jīng)濟(jì)中，存在生產(chǎn)者自由，經(jīng)營決策由企業(yè)獨立自主地作出。 2、生產(chǎn)要素可以自由流動。在市場經(jīng)濟(jì)中，商品的價格由買賣雙方供求關(guān)系決定，生產(chǎn)者 對生產(chǎn)什么，生產(chǎn)多少，為誰生產(chǎn)的決策可以自主地選擇。因此，資源的合理配置問題是由生產(chǎn)者獨立地做出，資源在各個行業(yè)間可以自由流動。同樣，消費者的購買行為，完全可以根 據(jù)價格及個人的消費偏好進(jìn)行確定，具有選擇的自主權(quán)。3、通過價格調(diào)節(jié)經(jīng)濟(jì)。價格調(diào)節(jié)就是價格是經(jīng)濟(jì)運行的調(diào)節(jié)者，由市場競爭決定的價 格是資源配置的主要手段。通過價格對經(jīng)濟(jì)進(jìn)行調(diào)節(jié)是市場經(jīng) 濟(jì)和計劃

6、經(jīng)濟(jì)的主要區(qū)別。價格調(diào)節(jié)經(jīng)濟(jì)必須具備三個條件： 其一，經(jīng)濟(jì)單位是獨立的經(jīng)濟(jì)實體；其二，存在市場；其三， 市場競爭的完全性與公平性。在完全競爭市場條件下，不存在 買方和賣方壟斷的問題。（二）市場的類型對于市場的類型可以按以下幾種標(biāo)準(zhǔn)進(jìn)行劃分：、根據(jù)商品交換內(nèi)容，可分為：農(nóng)產(chǎn)品市場、家用電器市 場、建筑材料市場、日用百貨市場、化工原料市場和車輛交易 市場等。、根據(jù)商品交換場所，可分為：國內(nèi)市場和外貿(mào)市場。國 內(nèi)市場又分為農(nóng)村集市、城鎮(zhèn)產(chǎn)品市場、沿海產(chǎn)品市場、邊境 產(chǎn)品市場和經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)產(chǎn)品市場等。、根據(jù)產(chǎn)品的經(jīng)濟(jì)用途，可分為：消費資料市場和生產(chǎn)資料市場。消費資料市場上交易的商品主要是城鄉(xiāng)居民生活必需

7、品，如糧食、蔬菜、水果、衣服等。生產(chǎn)資料市場上交易的商 品主要是種子、農(nóng)藥、化肥、飼料、農(nóng)機、機械零配件等各業(yè) 生產(chǎn)的生產(chǎn)資料。、根據(jù)產(chǎn)品交易方式，可分為：現(xiàn)貨交易市場和期貨交易 市場?，F(xiàn)貨市場的交易特點是買賣雙方交易的是現(xiàn)實交割的商 品；期貨市場買賣雙方交易的是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化期貨交易合同。5、根據(jù)市場經(jīng)營環(huán)節(jié)，可分為：批發(fā)(wholesale)市場和零售 (retail) 市場。批發(fā)是指一切將商品或服務(wù)給為了轉(zhuǎn)賣給他人 或商業(yè)用途而進(jìn)行購買行為的個人或組織的營銷活動，批發(fā)市 場是進(jìn)行商品批量交易的市場。從事批發(fā)經(jīng)營的主體主要有： 商人批發(fā)商(wholesaler)、經(jīng)紀(jì)人(broker)或代理銷售商

8、(sale agent)等；零售是指所有向最終消費者直接銷售產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的 營銷活動。零售市場是進(jìn)行商品零星交易的市場。從事零售業(yè) 務(wù)的商品經(jīng)營者主要有商店零售商、無門市零售商和零售機構(gòu) 等。三、價格在市場經(jīng)濟(jì)中的作用(一)價格調(diào)節(jié)經(jīng)濟(jì)的條件均衡價格是調(diào)節(jié)經(jīng)濟(jì)的“看不見的手”，但是，要讓“看不見的手”發(fā)揮作用還需要一些條件，換言之，市場經(jīng)濟(jì)中價格的調(diào) 節(jié)作用以三個重要的假設(shè)為前提條件。1、商品交易者是有理性的經(jīng)濟(jì)人。在市場上無論居民戶或廠商，每一個人都有能力自覺地追求個 人利益的最大化。只有這樣，價格才能自發(fā)地有效地引導(dǎo)人們 的經(jīng)濟(jì)行為。2、市場是完全競爭的。這就是說，每一個消費者或生產(chǎn)者都不能

9、通過人為的關(guān)系改變 由市場決定的價格，市場上的商品價格是由所有供給者和需求 者雙方共同決定的，每個交易者只是價格的接受者，不是決定 者。3、信息是完全暢通的。這就是說，市場上任何一個消費者或生產(chǎn)者都可以免費得到作出決策所需要的信息。任何一方都不能利用信息優(yōu)勢欺騙對方。（二）價格在經(jīng)濟(jì)中的調(diào)節(jié)作用The price mechanismThe system in a market economywhereby changes in price in response to changes in demand and supply have the effect of making demand e

10、qual to supply.在這樣的前提下，美國經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家N?費里德曼把價格在經(jīng)濟(jì)中的 作用歸納為三種：一是傳遞情報；二是提供一種刺激，促使人們 采用最節(jié)約的辦法進(jìn)行生產(chǎn)；三是決定誰可以得到多少產(chǎn)品。 這三種作用實際上解決了資源配置的三個問題：生產(chǎn)什么、如 何生產(chǎn)和為誰生產(chǎn)的問題。其作用可以具體化為：第一，作為指示器反映市場的供求狀況。市場供求關(guān)系是受各 種因素的影響的，每時每刻都在變化。這種變化必然要反映在 價格上，人們通過價格的波動來了解供求的變動。第二，價格的變動可以調(diào)節(jié)市場需求。消費者為了實現(xiàn)效用最 大化，一定要按價格的變動來進(jìn)行購買與消費。當(dāng)某種商品的 價格下降時，消費者就會多買，當(dāng)

11、某種商品的價格上升時，消 費者就會少買。第三，價格的變動可以調(diào)節(jié)市場供給。生產(chǎn)者為了實現(xiàn)利潤最 大化，一定要按價格的變動來進(jìn)行生產(chǎn)與銷售。當(dāng)某種商品的 價格下降時，生產(chǎn)者就會少生產(chǎn)，當(dāng)某種商品的價格上升時， 生產(chǎn)者就會多生產(chǎn)。第四，價格可以使資源配置達(dá)到最優(yōu)化。通過價格調(diào)節(jié)需求與供給，最終會使需求與供給相等，實現(xiàn)消費者的效用最大化, 同時實現(xiàn)生產(chǎn)者的利潤最大化，達(dá)到消費者與生產(chǎn)者的均衡, 實現(xiàn)資源配置的最優(yōu)化。四、價格調(diào)節(jié)經(jīng)濟(jì)的方式價格調(diào)節(jié)經(jīng)濟(jì)的方式主要有二：其一，價格信號反映市場上的 商品供求狀態(tài)，指導(dǎo)人們作出正確的選擇。其二，價格機制對 經(jīng)濟(jì)進(jìn)行自發(fā)的調(diào)節(jié)。沒有任何外力的作用，價格也可以對

12、經(jīng) 濟(jì)進(jìn)行自發(fā)的調(diào)節(jié)。因為價格可以對經(jīng)濟(jì)起到自發(fā)的調(diào)節(jié)作用, 所以人們把價格對經(jīng)濟(jì)的調(diào)節(jié)作用形象地比喻為是“一只看不 見的手”，價格主要是通過市場供求關(guān)系的變化來對經(jīng)濟(jì)進(jìn)行調(diào) 節(jié)，協(xié)調(diào)商品的需求與供給。五、搞好市場建設(shè)的基本措施（一）建立和完善市場運行機制市場運行機制，是指構(gòu)成市場的各個要素的相互聯(lián)系、相 互制約而發(fā)揮功能的關(guān)系體系。建立和完善市場運行機制主要 要做好的工作有：建立和完善市場體系，理順產(chǎn)品價格體系， 加強市場基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)，加強市場秩序管理，搞好市場管理的 法制化建設(shè)，加強市場行情預(yù)測和預(yù)報，進(jìn)行科學(xué)的市場信息 網(wǎng)絡(luò)建設(shè)，提供優(yōu)質(zhì)的各種市場服務(wù)等。（二）鼓勵開展正當(dāng)?shù)氖袌龈偁幮袨?/p>

13、市場經(jīng)濟(jì)的主要特征是買賣雙方可以自由競爭，買者和買 者之間可以自由競爭，賣者和賣者之間也可以自由競爭。在市 場競爭中，主要是賣者之間的競爭，競爭的內(nèi)容有：1、質(zhì)量競爭quality competition。產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量是市場競爭中取 勝的關(guān)鍵性因素，俗語說“不怕不識貨，就怕貨比貨。質(zhì)量問 題是市場競爭的關(guān)鍵。同時，產(chǎn)品的外觀形狀、色澤、包裝、 商標(biāo)和售后服務(wù)也是重要的產(chǎn)品競爭內(nèi)容。、價格競爭price competition。在產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量相近的情況 下，價格高低是產(chǎn)品市場競爭能力高低的重要影響因素。商品 價格比較低，商品需求量就會較多。3、服務(wù)競爭service competition 。在產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量

14、和價格相 同的情況下，服務(wù)是否到位直接影響著產(chǎn)品的市場競爭力。優(yōu) 質(zhì)的售后服務(wù)是擴(kuò)大商品銷路的重要手段。、時間競爭time competition 。時間就是生命，時間就 是財富。有了物美價廉的產(chǎn)品，還必須掌握適當(dāng)?shù)耐斗攀袌龅?時機，誰能以在用戶最需要的時間里以最快的速度提供商品和 勞務(wù)性服務(wù)，誰就能在市場競爭中取得優(yōu)勢。、信譽競爭reputation competition 。信譽是顧客心目中對某些企業(yè)和產(chǎn)品的信任感。良好的信譽是在市場競爭中保 持穩(wěn)定優(yōu)勢的重要條件。在這方面，努力提高商品在用戶心目 中的知名度和美譽度是非常重要的促銷手段和措施。（三）搞好市場的合理布局和選址在這方面要和社區(qū)

15、經(jīng)濟(jì)建設(shè)的長遠(yuǎn)規(guī)劃相結(jié)合，重點是搞好現(xiàn) 有集貿(mào)市場的改造和升級，在市場地址選擇上應(yīng)以方便居民生 活為主要原則，同時充分考慮到生產(chǎn)和經(jīng)濟(jì)建設(shè)的長遠(yuǎn)發(fā)展需 要，另外還要適當(dāng)尊重當(dāng)?shù)鼐用竦臍v史習(xí)慣，考慮地區(qū)和民族 的風(fēng)俗文化特點，有些有歷史特色的經(jīng)濟(jì)和文化名市要結(jié)合約 定俗成的歷史傳統(tǒng)要適當(dāng)給予保留，如洛陽的關(guān)林市場，南京 夫子廟市場等。Exercises:Markets - The Efficiency of the Invisible HandThe NewsImage: Pope John Paul II. His death led to the electionof a new Pope

16、- Joseph Ratzinger becamePope Benedict VI. Ratzinger was one of 115 potential candidates but couldyou have predicted whoit would eventually be? The markets did!Title:Pope Makes Landmark Hundredth Foreign Trip.Copyright: Getty Images, available from Education Image GalleryThe death of Pope John Paul

17、II on April 2nd 2005 prompted the process of a conclave at which a new Pope would be elected. 115 cardinals entered the Sistine Chapel in Rome for secret discussions and a series of ballots that would determine who was to be the next Pope. In theory, any one of the 115 cardinals could have been cand

18、idates but only one of their numbers would emerge.On May 5th 2005, the UKwill have a general election. The winner of the election will be one of the three major political parties - Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat. In reality, the race will really only be between two of these - the Conservat

19、ives and Labour. 4 weeks before the actual election could you have predicted who would win?In these two situations there is an outcome. The outcome in each case is uncertain but subject to some element of certainty that can be identified. In the case of the Pope, either Cardinal Ratzinger would be e

20、lected Pope or he would not; Cardinal Scola, the Patriarch of Venice and the subject of thousands of jokes, would also either becomePope or he would not.Labour will win the general election or it will not. The Conservatives will win the general election or it will not and so on. Each of these events

21、 has an unambiguous outcome. As such, a contract can be issued on this outcome.There are now a series of markets called Trade Exchange Networks that exist to enable individuals to buy and sell contracts on the outcome of such events. It appears that these markets are highly efficient in predicting t

22、he future. Their efficiency is such that the Pentagon, the United States Defence Department, floated the idea of using such markets to get information on politically sensitive outcomes like the possibilities of the US president being assassinated or the likelihood of a terrorist attack on the Houses

23、 of Parliament.Their plans were withdrawn after it was feared that assassins or terrorists with inside information could use the markets! One of the main principles of these markets is that those who trade in them are not party to inside information which would distort the whole workings of the mark

24、et. IImage: Some of these markets were extremely efficient in predicting the winner of the US presidential election in 2004; in some cases they were able to predict accurately which party would win which state and even the proportion of votes the parties gained!Title: Bush Celebrates 4th Of July In

25、West Virginia. Copyright: Getty Images, available from Education Image GalleryWhat these markets are doing, therefore, is bringing together thousands, if not more, individuals all seeking to make a profit. They makea profit by buying and selling the contracts at different prices. The prices will ris

26、e and fall depending on the perceived outcome of the contract.A contract, therefore, could be announced that Michael Howardwill win the election. If he does, then the contract will pay out 10. If not, it will pay out nothing. In the time up to the outcome, the contracts can be traded by the buyers a

27、nd sellers in this market. If, as the election approaches, it looks as though Michael Howardwill win the election then demand for the contract will rise and the price will also rise. If I bought the contract at the start of the period, I may have paid 4.20, as the election approaches and the price r

28、ises I might decide to sell it at 8.90 thus making a profit of 4 4.50 for each contract I own.The person buying the contract at 8 8.90 will, if Michael Howard does win the election, get 1Cthus making a profitof 11.10. If the market feels the chances of Michael Howard winning are receding then they w

29、ill try to sell and the price will fall. They will want to sell because holding on to the contract will mean theyget nothing at thematurity of the contract period.Buyers will, therefore, either buy thinking the price is going to rise or sell thinking the price is going to fall. For each trade, the E

30、xchange charges a small commission.The traders who are successful are the ones who correctly predict the outcome. To help them in their decision making they may well be watching polls, signs, news items, etc.very carefully. What happens, therefore, is that the combined wisdom of thousands of individ

31、uals is brought together through this trading process. The market can be very accurate in predicting outcomes.TheoryA market is any place that brings together buyers and sellers with a view to agreeing a price for exchange. This means that markets could be anything from a street market to a supermar

32、ket to e-Bay, a pub, club, the London Metal Exchange, or a drugs transaction on a street corner. Whether legal or not, each of these examples has the characteristics of a buyer, a seller and a price.The market is often spoken of as being an entity initself, something tangible that exists somewhere o

33、ut there in the world. Wehear people saying things like, the market needs to cater for those less able to help themselves or the market must take into account the effects on the environment.The market, however, is not a physical identity. It is made up of people. In some cases, the number in the mar

34、ket can be very small, in other instances there are millions of people who make up the market.As an individual, you are part of hundreds of markets but to illustrate the point we are going to assume you are walking into HMV or Virgin, or similar retail store, to buy a CD. This example is going to re

35、fer to the market for CDs. Within this overall market, however, there are thousands of sub-markets - such markets will depend on the type of music - rock, blues, jazz, garage, drum n bass, classical, world, etc. You have no particular CD in mind but want to spend sometime browsing the shelves. You h

36、ave 30 to spend.The Demand SideYou represent the buyer, the demandfor CDs. However, you bring to the market a peculiar set of individual and unique characteristics. As a potential buyer of CDs you have a certain demand schedule - a demand function. We express this function in the following manner.D

37、= f (P n, P n. Pn-1, Y, T, P, A)This means: the level of demand(D) is dependent upon (is a function of (f) Price (P n), the prices of other goods(Pn. Pn-i) - substitutes and complements, Incomes (Y),Tastes (T), the level and structure of the population (P) and the level of advertising (A).As you wal

38、k into the store, therefore, you are bringing with you a set of characteristics based on each of these factors which will determine ultimately what or whether you buy anything.You might be swayed by the price of the range of CDs on offer, for example, some offers might mean you could buy3 for 20 as

39、opposed to two for 15 each; there might be a sales rack with CDs priced at 5.99 but they might not be ones that you would necessarily buy at full price. You have a limited income - most people do - so you want to make sure you get value for money.This is termed utility - the measure of satisfaction

40、gained from a product. Utility is impossible to measurein the sameway we measure length or volume. It is entirely subjective yet it is vitally important in guiding ourspending decisions.Image: Buyers and sellers coming together in a market.What will determine the final decision of the buyer and how

41、does the seller try to anticipate this?Title:Music Industry Hunts Illegal File Swappers.Copyright: Getty Images, available from Education ImageGalleryYou are also going to be affected by the range of other goods available - there might be a CD of a band you like but also a DVD of a live performance.

42、 The DVD would be referred to as a substitute - something that can be used instead of another good but which effectively does thesamejob. Your decision on the CDor the DVDmight depend onwhether you have a DVD player. The DVD player would be referred to as a complement-something that tends to be boug

43、ht along with another good or service.Your age might also affect your spending decisions. Youwill be wandering around the store with hundreds of other people of all different ages. Age might be an importantfactor in determining the type of demand for a product;you might not find too many teenagers c

44、rushed around theeasy listening section of the store but neither are you likely to find too many pensioners rooting through the gangster rap CDs. The age structure and the size of the population are important determinants of demand.Finally, the other major determinant of demand is advertising. This

45、will be advertising that is not only in the store itself but also from the TV, radio, magazines and so on. You might go into a store, hear a track playing on the in-store radio and really like it and decide to buy it for that reason. Such facilities are simply a form of advertising for the store.The

46、 Supply SideFacing you as you walk into the store are hundreds of CDs, store assistants, artists, producers, recording engineers, marketing people and others screaming out at you to buy their product. They have used all manner of methods to try to get you to select their particular CD amongst the th

47、ousands that are on offer. There might be50,000 CDsfor sale in the store but you might leave having bought only two of them or even none at all!Supply, like demand, is dependent on a number of factors. Supply is completely independent of demand; supply does not depend on demandany more than demandis

48、 dependent on supply. There might be some relationship between the two but they are not dependent on each other. This is very important to remember and is often a source of confusion in student answers.Supply is represented, like demand, as a function:S = f (P n, P n. Pn-1, H, N, E, F 1. Fm)This say

49、s the level of supply (S) is dependent on (is a function of (f) the price of the good (Pn), the pricesof goods in joint or complementary supply (P n. Pn-1), the level of technology (H), natural factors (N) - the climate, weather, availability of natural resources, etc., the expectations of producers

50、 (E) and the cost of factors of production in producing the good/service (F 1. F m).The supply of CDsmaybe determined by someor all of these factors. CDproducers and the retail store will certainly be influenced by the price they think they can get for the CD, the level of technology will play a par

51、t in how many CDscan be produced and the efficiency with which they can be produced in addition to the quality of the product.The expectations of producers may involve how successful they think a particular artist or band will be, the quality of the judgment by the record companies in this respect m

52、ay be crucial in anticipating the market reaction. The costs of production will include the cost of manufacturing, the capital equipment involved, the salaries of all the humanresources involved in the process right down to the sales assistants, the profit margin required, the cost of land and raw m

53、aterials, etc. The rental costs to locate a major store in Londons Oxford Street, for example, are likely to be very high.The MarketThe market, therefore, consists of these two groups of people. For the most part, they do not know each other although the supplier mayengage in market research to try

54、to find out more about the people who buy their products (or who might buy them) but what is happening is that the seller is offering thousands of CDs for sale in the hope of persuading you, the buyer, to part with your money.You may not think, as a single individual, that you have much power in the

55、se markets. That may be the case, but remember the market is madeup of millions of individuals each bringing their own set of characteristics to the market. Your individual decision is but one that sends a message to the suppliers about the product they are offering for sale.Image: Markets - any pla

56、ce bringing together buyers and sellers.Title: Kashmiris Experience A Fragile Peace. Copyright: Getty Images, available from Education Image Gallery Lets take the case of two artists in the music industry. U2 are an international music phenomenon; sales of their CDsrun into millions. Whenthey releas

57、e a newalbum, there is a good chance that it is going to sell well, they are proven artists. The record producers might allow the band a good deal of freedom in the planning, production and content of the new release because they are trusted artists.Images: Whowould you choose? The Edge, guitarist w

58、ith U2 -one of the most successful rock acts of the past twenty years, and Jan Akkerman during a sound check on tour in the UK, March 2005.Copyright - The Edge. Title: The Edge Attends New Years Eve Celebration In Dublin. Getty Images, available from Education Image Gallery .Copyright - Jan Akkerman

59、. Reproduced by kind permission of Clive Woodley , and the Jan Akkerman official siteJan Akkerman is a Dutch guitarist. During the early 1970s, Akkerman was in a band called Focus who achieved international fame and recognition. Akkerman quit the band in the late 1970s and since then has pursued a s

60、olo career. He is a highly talented and well respected guitarist but whilst he has a devoted fan base, he has not sold anything like the number of CDs that U2 have. His desire to be independent and pursue his own musical direction means he is not necessarily someone who a mainstream record company i