SEMAINE D ETUDE SUR LE ROLE DE L ANALYSE ECONOMETRIQUE ETC. 
585 
By developing this determinant, the condition may be stated 
more simply as: 
(IL.5) a, a, + a, a,, + …. +a, ._1 AQ _1n -I=0. 
[f this condition is satisfied, then each of the two linear homo- 
genous systems gives solutions for (n - I) variables, while the 
n'" variable can be fixed arbitrarily. In our case, there evidently 
is for system (II.3) a quantity which is fixed, namely X,: the 
total quantity of labour available. On the other hand, no si- 
milar quantity can be considered as fixed in (II.4). This ex- 
dresses the well-known property that any real system can give 
solutions only for relative prices but not for their absolute level. 
Therefore, the choice being arbitrary, we may put, for the time 
veing, P, =P Hence 
(11.6) 
11.7) 
which represent the solutions of the system for physical quan- 
ities and relative prices. The meaning of expressions (II.6) 
and (II.7) is fairly straightforward. Each of the coefficients 
‘ay, Gays .. a, ,,) expresses average per-capita demand for 
[10] Pasinetti - pag. 15