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The Elgar Companion to Ronald H. Coase

9781782547983 Edward Elgar Publishing

Edited by Claude Ménard, Professor of Economics, Centre d''Economie de la Sorbonne, Université de Paris (Panthéon-Sorbonne) and Elodie Bertrand, National Center for Scientific Research, France

Publication Date: 2016 ISBN: 978 1 78254 798 3 Extent: 384 pp

Ronald H. Coase was one of the most innovative and provocative economists of the twentieth century. Besides his best known papers on ‘The Nature of the Firm’ and ‘The Problem of Social Cost’, he had a major role in the development of the field of law and economics, and made numerous influential contributions to topics including public utilities, regulation and the functioning of markets. In this comprehensive Companion, 31 leading economists, social scientists and legal scholars assess the impact of his work with particular reference to the research programs initiated, the influence on policymakers, and the challenge to conventional perspectives.

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Critical Acclaim

Contributors

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Ronald H. Coase, one of the most innovative and provocative economists of the twentieth century, has had a lasting influence in economics, law and economics, organization theory, management and political science. In this comprehensive Companion, 31 leading economists, social scientists and legal scholars, including two Nobel Laureates, offer the first global assessment of the initial impact of Coase’s work and the continuing inspiration that researchers and policy makers find in his contributions.

The book presents a review of the continuing power of Coase’s work, including the reshaping of public policies with particular respect to public utilities and network industries. Further chapters explore research programmes that he initiated including the concept of transaction costs and the analysis of property rights, especially in terms of the regulation of the communications industry and the creation of markets for the right to pollute. The book clearly demonstrates the originality of Coase’s work and the challenge that it posed to conventional perspectives which has been a hallmark of his research throughout his life, from his initial view on the nature of the firm to his recent analysis of the development of capitalism in China. Less well-known features of Coase’s research going beyond his famous papers on ‘The Nature of the Firm’ and ‘The Problem of Social Cost’ are also explored in detail.

From economics to public policy, this complete and thorough assessment of Coase’s vast contribution will be an invaluable reference to all those interested in the many areas influenced by this great economist.

Critical Acclaim

‘These papers add up to an impressive commentary on Coase''s wide-ranging contributions. All pay tribute to his work while offering a critical appraisal that suggests lines for future research.’
– Economic Affairs

Contributors

Contributors: D.W. Allen, K.J. Arrow, B. Arruñada, Y. Barzel, E. Bertrand, R.R.W. Brooks, J.N. Drobak, G.W. Evans, W. Farnsworth, J. Farrell, K. Foss, N.J. Foss, R.F. Freeland, J. Groenewegen,R. Guesnerie, F. Gul, T.W. Hazlett, P.G. Klein, G.D. Libecap, S.G. Medema, C. Ménard, M.W. Moszoro, J.H. Mulherin, J.V.C. Nye, S. Pratten, M.M. Shirley, P.T. Spiller, J. Thomas, P. de Vries, N. Wang, O.E. Williamson

Contents

Contents:

Introduction
Claude Ménard and Elodie Bertrand

PART I: COASE IN CONTEXT
1. Ronald Coase: The Makings of an Iconoclast
Mary M. Shirley

2. Coase and the London School of Economics in the 1920s-1940s
Jim Thomas

3. The Transaction Cost Economics Project: Origins, Evolution, Utilization
Oliver E. Williamson

PART II: FOUNDATIONS: KEY CONCEPTS
4. Coase’s Theory of the Firm: The Next Steps
Kenneth J. Arrow

5. Revisiting Coase on Anticipations and the Cobweb Model
George W. Evans and Roger Guesnerie

6. Coase’s Contribution to Contract Theory
Douglas W. Allen and Yoram Barzel

7. Coase on Property Rights
John N. Drobak

8. Coasean Bargaining to Address Environmental Externalities
Gary D. Libecap

9. Coase on the Nature and Assessment of Social Institutions
Stephen Pratten

PART III: FIRM AND ORGANIZATION THEORY
10. The Holdup Game
Richard R. W. Brooks

11. The Employment Relation and Coase’s Theory of the Firm
Robert F. Freeland

12. Managerial Authority in the Coasean Firm: An Entrepreneurial Perspective
Kirsten Foss, Nicolai J. Foss and Peter G. Klein

13. The Realistic Method of Ronald Coase: Lessons for Research on Mergers and Acquisitions
J. Harold Mulherin

14. Ronald H. Coase and the Economics of Network Infrastructure
Claude Ménard

PART IV: MARKET: STRUCTURE AND REGULATION
The Coase Conjecture
Faruk Gul

16. What do We Really Know About Durable Goods Monopolies? The Coase Conjecture in Economics and its Relevance for the Safety Razor Industry
John V.C. Nye

17. Coase and Demsetz on Property Rights: The Case of Radio Spectrum
Thomas W. Hazlett

18. Coase and the Regulation of Public Utilities
John Groenewegen and Piet De Vries

19. Coase and the Transaction Cost Approach to Regulation
Marian W. Moszoro and Pablo T. Spiller

20. Emerging Markets: What Can We Learn from Ronald Coase
Ning Wang

PART V: LAW AND PROPERTY RIGHTS
21. Ronald Coase and the Legal–Economic Nexus
Steven G. Medema

22. Coase and the Departure from Property
Benito Arruñada

23. Coase’s Empirical Studies: The Case of the Lighthouse
Elodie Bertrand

24. Some Failures of the Popular Coase Theorem
Joseph Farrell

25. The Empirical Accuracy and Judicial Use of the Coase Theorem (Vel Non)
Ward Farnsworth

Index