The Nature of the Firm: Origins, Evolution, and Development

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In 1937, Ronald H. Coase published "The Nature of the Firm," a classic paper that raised fundamental questions about the concept of the firm in economic theory. Coase proposed that the comparative costs of organizing transactions through markets rather than within firms are the primary determinants of the size and scope of firms. Coase won the 1991 Nobel Prize in Economics for this work. This volume derives from a conference held in 1987 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Coase's classic article. The first chapter affords an overview of the volume. It is followed by a republication of the 1937 article, and by the three lectures Coase presented at the conference. These lectures provide a lively and informative history of the origins and development of his thought. Subsequent chapters explore a wide-range of theoretical and empirical issues that have arisen in the transaction cost economic tradition. They illustrate the power of the transaction cost approach to enhance understanding not only of business firms, but of problems of economic organization generally. In addition to Coase's work, contributors include Sherwin Rosen, Paul Joskow, Oliver Hart, Harold Demsetz, Scott Masten, Benjamin Klein, as well as the volume's editors, Oliver E. Williamson, and Sidney G. Winter. The Nature of the Firm includes Coase's acceptance speech for his Nobel Prize in Economics.

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Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Starting Point, 2003-08-23
This book serves as an excellent introduction to the transaction cost motivated theories of the firm. The whole field started with the 1937 paper by Coase, which one can find here. Three other papers by Coase give a good background on how he came to write that paper and what its implications and influences are. His Nobel lecture is also included. They all make a nice reading and clear up some misunderstandings about Coase's work. Coase is an excellent writer.

The other papers are very good too. I especially liked the one by Harold Demsetz. It points out that there are some important shortcomings to the transactionialist view and outlines a alternative theory of the firm.

Almost all papers can be read without much knowledge about economics and without math, so anyone with an interest in the topic should take a look.

4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4 out of 5 stars Readings on the "Firm", 2000-07-03
The papers imprinted there include Coase's "The Nature of the Firm" and his Nobel Lecture as well. The works of O. Williamson, O. Hart, S. Rosen, S. Winter, etc on the nature of the firm are also there.

One thing worth to note is that three of the papers are the lectures given by Coase in the 1987 conference (which is due to the 50th anniversery of the publication of his "The Nature of the Firm") are also included. The sub-title of this book speaks for itself.

But I don't know why Cheung's "The Contractual Nature of the Firm" is omitted.

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