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Legal persons: the evolution of fictitious species

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  • PAGANO, UGO

Abstract

Posner considers purposeful organisations. Legal persons are fictitious non-mortal species whose evolution has played a major role in economic development. In what sense can they be said to have a purpose? Thanks to several important mutations, the status of legal persons was transferred from public bodies to business corporations. This evolutionary journey is complementary to the Coasian view, which, moving in the opposite direction, explains the firm as a centralization of market transactions. If the corporation emerged also from a process of decentralization of public attributes, some features of public legal persons, are lacking in its business mutation. Also some ways of motivating people are only available to the original species.

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  • Pagano, Ugo, 2010. "Legal persons: the evolution of fictitious species," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(1), pages 117-124, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:6:y:2010:i:01:p:117-124_99
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    Cited by:

    1. Chassagnon, Virgile, 2012. "Une analyse historique de la nature juridique de la firme," Revue de la Régulation - Capitalisme, institutions, pouvoirs, Association Recherche et Régulation, vol. 12.

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