Sad news today that Ronald Coase has passed away; he was still working, often on the Chinese economy, at the incredible age of 102. Coase is best known to economists for two statements: that transaction costs explain many puzzles in the organization of society, and that pricing for durable goods presents a particular worry since even a monopolist selling a durable good needs to “compete” with its future and past selves. Both of these statements are horribly, horribly misunderstood, particularly the first.
Let’s talk first about transaction costs, as in “The Nature of the Firm” and “The Problem of Social Cost”, which are to my knowledge the most cited and the second most cited papers in economics. The Problem of Social Cost leads with its famous cattle versus crops example. A farmer wishes to grow crops, and a rancher wishes his cattle to roam where the crops grow. Should…
View original post 1,175 more words
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments