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Economica Coase Lecture: Reference Points and the Theory of the Firm

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  • OLIVER HART

Abstract

I argue that it has been hard to make progress on Coase's theory of the firm agenda because of the difficulty of formalizing haggling costs. I propose an approach that tries to move things forward using the idea of aggrievement costs, and apply it to the question of whether a transaction should be placed inside a firm (in‐house production) or in the market place (outsourcing).

Suggested Citation

  • Oliver Hart, 2008. "Economica Coase Lecture: Reference Points and the Theory of the Firm," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 75(299), pages 404-411, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:econom:v:75:y:2008:i:299:p:404-411
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0335.2007.00659.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    10. Oliver Hart & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1127-1161.
    11. Gibbons, Robert, 2005. "Four forma(lizable) theories of the firm?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 200-245, October.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Elizabeth Hoffman & Matthew L. Spitzer, 2011. "The Enduring Power of Coase," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(S4), pages 63-76.
    3. Tongwei Qiu & Xinjie Shi & Biliang Luo, 2022. "Formalizing agricultural rentals in China: Does local public action help?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(4), July.
    4. Hoppe, Eva I. & Schmitz, Patrick W., 2011. "Can contracts solve the hold-up problem? Experimental evidence," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 186-199, September.
    5. Schweighofer-Kodritsch, Sebastian, 2022. "The bargaining trap," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 249-254.
    6. Valeria Gattai & Piergiovanna Natale, 2017. "A New Cinderella Story: Joint Ventures And The Property Rights Theory Of The Firm," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 281-302, February.
    7. Zhongwei Wu, 2018. "Risk, Preference, Capital Structure and Incentives," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 11(7), pages 20-34, July.
    8. Birger Wernerfelt, 2013. "Small forces and large firms: Foundations of the RBV," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(6), pages 635-643, June.
    9. Berde, Éva, 2013. "A fundamentális transzformáció és a referenciapont szerepe a hiányos szerződések elméletében [The role of basic transformation and reference point in the theory of incomplete contracts]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(7), pages 865-885.
    10. Schmitz, Patrick W., 2010. "Contractual solutions to hold-up problems with quality uncertainty and unobservable investments," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(5), pages 807-816, September.
    11. Bohdan Kukharskyy, 2012. "Global Sourcing if Contracts are Reference Points," Working Papers 129, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    12. Paul Walker, 2013. "The ‘Reference Point’ Approach To The Theory Of The Firm: An Introduction," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 670-695, September.
    13. Tongwei Qiu & Biliang Luo & Qinying He, 2020. "Does Land Rent between Acquaintances Deviate from the Reference Point? Evidence from Rural China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 28(3), pages 29-50, May.
    14. Dorothee Feils & Manzur Rahman & Florin Şabac, 2018. "Corporate Governance Systems Diversity: A Coasian Perspective on Stakeholder Rights," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(2), pages 451-466, June.
    15. Steven G. Medema, 2020. "The Coase Theorem at Sixty," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(4), pages 1045-1128, December.
    16. Tore Ellingsen & Eirik Gaard Kristiansen, 2022. "Fair and Square: A Retention Model of Managerial Compensation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3604-3624, May.
    17. Christian Zehnder & Holger Herz & Jean-Philippe Bonardi, 2016. "A Productive Clash of Cultures: Injecting Economics into Leadership Research," CESifo Working Paper Series 6175, CESifo.
    18. Aghion, Philippe & Dewatripont, Mathias & Legros, Patrick & Zingales, Luigi (ed.), 2016. "The Impact of Incomplete Contracts on Economics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199826216.
    19. Ting Ye & Wenjian He & Zhiyong Liu, 2022. "Exploring the Influence of Land Titling on Farmland Transfer-Out Based on Land Parcel Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, February.
    20. Faravelli, Marco & Kirchkamp, Oliver & Rainer, Helmut, 2013. "The effect of power imbalances on incentives to make non-contractible investments," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 169-185.
    21. Siegwart Lindenberg, 2013. "Cognition and governance: why inventices have to take a back seat," Chapters, in: Anna Grandori (ed.), Handbook of Economic Organization, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    22. Paul Walker, 2016. "Simple Models of a Human-Capital-Based Firm: a Reference Point Approach," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 7(1), pages 219-247, March.
    23. Jiao Luo & Aseem Kaul, 2019. "Private action in public interest: The comparative governance of social issues," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 476-502, April.

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