Let (X, d) be a nonempty metric space, and let (2X , Hd) be the hyperspace of all nonempty compact subsets of X with the Hausdorff metric. Let F :X → 2X be an ε-contractive map. A general condition is given that guarantees the existence of a periodic point of F (the theorem extends a result of Edelstein to multi-valued maps). The condition holds when X is compact; hence, F has a periodic point ...