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The Coase Theorem
This two-volume collection provides an overview of essential works for understanding one of the most important contributions to the field of law and economics: the Coase Theorem. A variety of prominent scholars contribute crucial essays, each exploring different aspects of Coase’s work. Volume I explores the origins, restatements and extensions of Coase’s Theorem and contains subsections on sources, positive restatements, normative corollaries, ‘Coaseanism’, and Coase’s intellectual legacy. Volume II considers criticisms and applications of the Coase Theorem covering surveys and applications, Coasean Bargaining, Coase and the Constitution, political markets, liability, critiques, and experimental testing of the Theorem.
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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
This two-volume collection provides an overview of essential works for understanding one of the most important contributions to the field of law and economics: the Coase Theorem. A variety of prominent scholars contribute crucial essays, each exploring different aspects of Coase’s work. Volume I explores the origins, restatements and extensions of Coase’s Theorem and contains subsections on sources, positive restatements, normative corollaries, ‘Coaseanism’, and Coase’s intellectual legacy. Volume II considers criticisms and applications of the Coase Theorem covering surveys and applications, Coasean Bargaining, Coase and the Constitution, political markets, liability, critiques, and experimental testing of the Theorem.
Along with a new and original introduction, the diverse array of authors and topics makes this compendium an indispensable tool to study one of the most cited economic theories of the 20th century.
Along with a new and original introduction, the diverse array of authors and topics makes this compendium an indispensable tool to study one of the most cited economic theories of the 20th century.
Critical Acclaim
‘For those eager to learn more about the phenomenon that is the Coase theorem, this collection makes an excellent resources, one that exposes the reader to both the grand themes of Coase theorem history and the theoretical minutia that all too often dominated the discussion - but without going overboard on the latter front.''
– Steve G. Medema, Journal of the History of Economic Thought
‘Deirdre McCloskey’s erstwhile quip that no more than a handful of economists, “a bare half-dozen,” actually understand the Coase Theorem, was surely an exaggeration – the actual number is undoubtedly fewer! Once assimilated, however, the Theorem – particularly its contrapositive: Institutions and legal rules matter only as a consequence of nontrivial transaction costs – fundamentally reorients one’s analytical approach to problems of organization and governance. The contributions assembled in these volumes, which span the Theorem’s origins, development, applications and misunderstandings, provide the careful reader with the opportunity to join that elite group who truly appreciate Ronald Coase’s profound insight.’
– Scott E. Masten, University of Michigan, US
– Steve G. Medema, Journal of the History of Economic Thought
‘Deirdre McCloskey’s erstwhile quip that no more than a handful of economists, “a bare half-dozen,” actually understand the Coase Theorem, was surely an exaggeration – the actual number is undoubtedly fewer! Once assimilated, however, the Theorem – particularly its contrapositive: Institutions and legal rules matter only as a consequence of nontrivial transaction costs – fundamentally reorients one’s analytical approach to problems of organization and governance. The contributions assembled in these volumes, which span the Theorem’s origins, development, applications and misunderstandings, provide the careful reader with the opportunity to join that elite group who truly appreciate Ronald Coase’s profound insight.’
– Scott E. Masten, University of Michigan, US
Contributors
55 articles, dating from 1959 to 2010
Contributors include: P. Bernholz, J. Buchanan, G. Calabresi, R. Cooter, H. Demsetz, R. Epstein, L. Kaplow, D. Melamed, P. Samuelson, G. Stigler
Contributors include: P. Bernholz, J. Buchanan, G. Calabresi, R. Cooter, H. Demsetz, R. Epstein, L. Kaplow, D. Melamed, P. Samuelson, G. Stigler
Contents
Contents:
Volume I: Origins, Restatements and Extensions
Acknowledgements
Introduction Richard A. Posner and Francesco Parisi
PART I THE SOURCES
1. R.H. Coase (1959), ‘The Federal Communications Commission’
2. R.H. Coase (1960), ‘The Problem of Social Cost’
3. R.H. Coase (1988), ‘Notes on the Problem of Social Cost’, in ‘The Firm, the Market, and the Law’
PART II THE POSITIVE RESTATEMENTS
4. Harold Demsetz (1964), ‘The Exchange and Enforcement of Property Rights’
5. George J. Stigler (1966), ‘Costs and Production’
6. George J. Stigler (1989) ‘Two Notes on the Coase Theorem’
7. Richard A. Posner (2011), ‘3.6 Incompatible Uses’ from Chapter 3 ‘Property’ in ‘Economic Analysis of Law’
PART III THE NORMATIVE COROLLARIES
8. Guido Calabresi and A. Douglas Melamed (1972), ‘Property Rules, Liability Rules, and Inalienability: One View of the Cathedral’
9. Ian Ayres and Eric Talley (1995), ‘Solomonic Bargaining: Dividing a Legal Entitlement to Facilitate Coasean Trade’
10. Louis Koplow and Steven Shavell (1996), ‘Property Rules Versus Liability Rules: An Economic Analysis’
11. Barbara Luppi and Francesco Parisi (2011), ‘Toward an Asymmetric Coase Theorem’
PART IV COASE THEOREM AND COASEANISM
12. Robert C. Ellickson (1989), ‘The Case for Coase and Against “Coaseanism”’
13. E. Ray Canterbery and A. Marvasti (1992), ‘The Coase Theorem as a Negative Externality’
14. Daniel A. Farber (1997), ‘Parody Lost/Pragmatism Regained: The Ironic History of the Coase Theorem’
15. Deirdre McCloskey (1998), ‘The So-Called Coase Theorem’
16. Edward Glaeser, Simon Johnson and Andrei Shleifer (2001), ‘Coase Versus the Coasians’
17. Steven G. Medema (1994), ‘The Myth of Two Coases: What Coase is Really Saying’
PART V THE INTELLECTUAL LEGACY
18. Richard A. Posner (1993), ‘Nobel Laureate: Ronald Coase and Methodology’
19. Richard A. Epstein (1993), ‘Holdouts, Externalities, and the Single Owner: One More Salute to Ronald Coase’
20. Guido Calabresi (1991), ‘The Pointlessness of Pareto: Carrying Coase Further’
21. Stewart Schwab (1989), ‘Review: Coase Defends Coase: Why Lawyers Listen and Economists Do Not’
22. Fred R. Shapiro (1995-1996), ‘The Most-Cited Law Review Articles Revisited’
23. R.H. Coase (1996), ‘The Problem of Social Cost: The Citations’
Volume II: Criticisms and Applications
Acknowledgements
An Introduction by editors to both volumes appears in Volume I
PART I SURVEYS AND APPLICATIONS
1. A. Mitchell Polinsky (2011), ‘The Coase Theorem’, ‘First Application-Nuisance Law’, ‘Second Application-Breach of Contract’ and ‘Third Application-Automobile Accidents’
2. James Halteman (2005), ‘Externalities and the Coase Theorem: A Diagrammatic Presentation’
3. Robert D. Cooter (1987), ‘Coase Theorem’
4. Francesco Parisi (2008), ‘Coase Theorem’
PART II COASEAN BARGAINING IN THE SHADOW OF THE LAW
5. Robert C. Ellickson (1986), ‘Of Coase and Cattle: Dispute Resolution Among Neighbors in Shasta County’
6. Kenneth R. Vogel (1987), ‘The Coase Theorem and California Animal Trespass Law’
7. Timothy R. Hylan, Maureen J. Lage and Michael Treglia (1996), ‘The Coase Theorem, Free Agency, and Major League Baseball: A Panel Study of Pitcher Mobility from 1961 to 1992’
PART III COASE THEOREM AND THE CONSTITUTION
8. James M. Buchanan (1973), ‘The Coase Theorem and the Theory of the State’
9. J. Gregory Sidak (1991), ‘The Inverse Coase Theorem and Declarations of War’
PART IV COASE THEOREM AND POLITICAL MARKETS
10. Varouj A. Aivazian, Jeffrey L. Callen and Irwin Lipnowski (1987), ‘The Coase Theorem and Coalitional Stability’
11. Peter Bernholz (1997), ‘Property Rights, Contracts, Cyclical Social Preferences and the Coase Theorem: A Synthesis’
12. Peter Bernholz (1999) ‘The Generalized Coase Theorem and Separable Individual Preferences: An Extension’
13. Francesco Parisi (2003), ‘Political Coase Theorem’
PART V DOES LIABILITY MATTER? COASE THEOREM IN THE LONG-RUN
14. Stanislaw Wellisz (1964), ‘On External Diseconomies and the Government-Assisted Invisible Hand’
15. G. Warren Nutter (1968), ‘The Coase Theorem on Social Cost: A Footnote’
16. Guido Calabresi (1968), ‘Transaction Costs, Resource Allocation and Liability Rules – A Comment’
17. Harold Demsetz (1972), ‘When Does the Rule of Liability Matter?’
18. Donald H. Regan (1972), ‘The Problem of Social Cost Revisited’
19. William D. Schulze and Ralph C. D’Arge (1974), ‘The Coase Proposition, Information Constraints and Long-Run Equilibrium’
PART VI OTHER THEORETICAL CRITIQUES
20. Paul Samuelson (1995), ‘Some Uneasiness with the Coase Theorem’
21. Robert Cooter (1982), ‘The Cost of Coase’
22. Avinash Dixit and Mancur Olson (2000), ‘Does Voluntary Participation Undermine the Coase Theorem?’
23. Luca Anderlini and Leonardo Felli (2006), ‘Transaction Costs and the Robustness of the Coase Theorem’
24. Ken-Ichi Inada and Kiyoshi Kuga (1973), ‘Limitations of the “Coase Theorem” on Liability Rules’
25. Varouj A. Aivazian and Jeffrey L. Callen (1981), ‘The Coase Theorem and the Empty Core’
26. A.W. Brian Simpson (1996), ‘“Coase v. Pigou” Reexamined’
PART VII EXPERIMENTAL TESTS OF THE COASE THEOREM
27. Elizabeth Hoffman and Matthew L. Spitzer (1982), ‘The Coase Theorem: Some Experimental Tests’
28. Glenn W. Harrison and Michael McKee (1985), ‘Experimental Evaluation of the Coase Theorem?’
29. Elizabeth Hoffman and Matthew L. Spitzer (1986), ‘Experimental Tests of the Coase Theorem with Large Bargaining Groups’
30. Glenn W. Harrison, Elizabeth Hoffman, E.E. Rutström and Matthew L. Spitzer (1987), ‘Coasian Solutions to the Externality Problem in Experimental Markets’
31. Daniel Kahneman, Jack L. Knetsch and Richard H. Thaler (1990), ‘Experimental Tests of the Endowment Effect and the Coase Theorem’
32. Varouj A. Aivazian, Jeffrey L. Callen and Susan McCracken (2009), ‘Experimental Tests of Core Theory and the Coase Theorem: Inefficiency and Cycling’
Volume I: Origins, Restatements and Extensions
Acknowledgements
Introduction Richard A. Posner and Francesco Parisi
PART I THE SOURCES
1. R.H. Coase (1959), ‘The Federal Communications Commission’
2. R.H. Coase (1960), ‘The Problem of Social Cost’
3. R.H. Coase (1988), ‘Notes on the Problem of Social Cost’, in ‘The Firm, the Market, and the Law’
PART II THE POSITIVE RESTATEMENTS
4. Harold Demsetz (1964), ‘The Exchange and Enforcement of Property Rights’
5. George J. Stigler (1966), ‘Costs and Production’
6. George J. Stigler (1989) ‘Two Notes on the Coase Theorem’
7. Richard A. Posner (2011), ‘3.6 Incompatible Uses’ from Chapter 3 ‘Property’ in ‘Economic Analysis of Law’
PART III THE NORMATIVE COROLLARIES
8. Guido Calabresi and A. Douglas Melamed (1972), ‘Property Rules, Liability Rules, and Inalienability: One View of the Cathedral’
9. Ian Ayres and Eric Talley (1995), ‘Solomonic Bargaining: Dividing a Legal Entitlement to Facilitate Coasean Trade’
10. Louis Koplow and Steven Shavell (1996), ‘Property Rules Versus Liability Rules: An Economic Analysis’
11. Barbara Luppi and Francesco Parisi (2011), ‘Toward an Asymmetric Coase Theorem’
PART IV COASE THEOREM AND COASEANISM
12. Robert C. Ellickson (1989), ‘The Case for Coase and Against “Coaseanism”’
13. E. Ray Canterbery and A. Marvasti (1992), ‘The Coase Theorem as a Negative Externality’
14. Daniel A. Farber (1997), ‘Parody Lost/Pragmatism Regained: The Ironic History of the Coase Theorem’
15. Deirdre McCloskey (1998), ‘The So-Called Coase Theorem’
16. Edward Glaeser, Simon Johnson and Andrei Shleifer (2001), ‘Coase Versus the Coasians’
17. Steven G. Medema (1994), ‘The Myth of Two Coases: What Coase is Really Saying’
PART V THE INTELLECTUAL LEGACY
18. Richard A. Posner (1993), ‘Nobel Laureate: Ronald Coase and Methodology’
19. Richard A. Epstein (1993), ‘Holdouts, Externalities, and the Single Owner: One More Salute to Ronald Coase’
20. Guido Calabresi (1991), ‘The Pointlessness of Pareto: Carrying Coase Further’
21. Stewart Schwab (1989), ‘Review: Coase Defends Coase: Why Lawyers Listen and Economists Do Not’
22. Fred R. Shapiro (1995-1996), ‘The Most-Cited Law Review Articles Revisited’
23. R.H. Coase (1996), ‘The Problem of Social Cost: The Citations’
Volume II: Criticisms and Applications
Acknowledgements
An Introduction by editors to both volumes appears in Volume I
PART I SURVEYS AND APPLICATIONS
1. A. Mitchell Polinsky (2011), ‘The Coase Theorem’, ‘First Application-Nuisance Law’, ‘Second Application-Breach of Contract’ and ‘Third Application-Automobile Accidents’
2. James Halteman (2005), ‘Externalities and the Coase Theorem: A Diagrammatic Presentation’
3. Robert D. Cooter (1987), ‘Coase Theorem’
4. Francesco Parisi (2008), ‘Coase Theorem’
PART II COASEAN BARGAINING IN THE SHADOW OF THE LAW
5. Robert C. Ellickson (1986), ‘Of Coase and Cattle: Dispute Resolution Among Neighbors in Shasta County’
6. Kenneth R. Vogel (1987), ‘The Coase Theorem and California Animal Trespass Law’
7. Timothy R. Hylan, Maureen J. Lage and Michael Treglia (1996), ‘The Coase Theorem, Free Agency, and Major League Baseball: A Panel Study of Pitcher Mobility from 1961 to 1992’
PART III COASE THEOREM AND THE CONSTITUTION
8. James M. Buchanan (1973), ‘The Coase Theorem and the Theory of the State’
9. J. Gregory Sidak (1991), ‘The Inverse Coase Theorem and Declarations of War’
PART IV COASE THEOREM AND POLITICAL MARKETS
10. Varouj A. Aivazian, Jeffrey L. Callen and Irwin Lipnowski (1987), ‘The Coase Theorem and Coalitional Stability’
11. Peter Bernholz (1997), ‘Property Rights, Contracts, Cyclical Social Preferences and the Coase Theorem: A Synthesis’
12. Peter Bernholz (1999) ‘The Generalized Coase Theorem and Separable Individual Preferences: An Extension’
13. Francesco Parisi (2003), ‘Political Coase Theorem’
PART V DOES LIABILITY MATTER? COASE THEOREM IN THE LONG-RUN
14. Stanislaw Wellisz (1964), ‘On External Diseconomies and the Government-Assisted Invisible Hand’
15. G. Warren Nutter (1968), ‘The Coase Theorem on Social Cost: A Footnote’
16. Guido Calabresi (1968), ‘Transaction Costs, Resource Allocation and Liability Rules – A Comment’
17. Harold Demsetz (1972), ‘When Does the Rule of Liability Matter?’
18. Donald H. Regan (1972), ‘The Problem of Social Cost Revisited’
19. William D. Schulze and Ralph C. D’Arge (1974), ‘The Coase Proposition, Information Constraints and Long-Run Equilibrium’
PART VI OTHER THEORETICAL CRITIQUES
20. Paul Samuelson (1995), ‘Some Uneasiness with the Coase Theorem’
21. Robert Cooter (1982), ‘The Cost of Coase’
22. Avinash Dixit and Mancur Olson (2000), ‘Does Voluntary Participation Undermine the Coase Theorem?’
23. Luca Anderlini and Leonardo Felli (2006), ‘Transaction Costs and the Robustness of the Coase Theorem’
24. Ken-Ichi Inada and Kiyoshi Kuga (1973), ‘Limitations of the “Coase Theorem” on Liability Rules’
25. Varouj A. Aivazian and Jeffrey L. Callen (1981), ‘The Coase Theorem and the Empty Core’
26. A.W. Brian Simpson (1996), ‘“Coase v. Pigou” Reexamined’
PART VII EXPERIMENTAL TESTS OF THE COASE THEOREM
27. Elizabeth Hoffman and Matthew L. Spitzer (1982), ‘The Coase Theorem: Some Experimental Tests’
28. Glenn W. Harrison and Michael McKee (1985), ‘Experimental Evaluation of the Coase Theorem?’
29. Elizabeth Hoffman and Matthew L. Spitzer (1986), ‘Experimental Tests of the Coase Theorem with Large Bargaining Groups’
30. Glenn W. Harrison, Elizabeth Hoffman, E.E. Rutström and Matthew L. Spitzer (1987), ‘Coasian Solutions to the Externality Problem in Experimental Markets’
31. Daniel Kahneman, Jack L. Knetsch and Richard H. Thaler (1990), ‘Experimental Tests of the Endowment Effect and the Coase Theorem’
32. Varouj A. Aivazian, Jeffrey L. Callen and Susan McCracken (2009), ‘Experimental Tests of Core Theory and the Coase Theorem: Inefficiency and Cycling’
