IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/23593.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Towards a Political Theory of the Firm

Author

Listed:
  • Luigi Zingales

Abstract

Neoclassical theory assumes that firms have no power of fiat any different from ordinary market contracting, thus a fortiori no power to influence the rules of the game. In the real world, firms have such power. I argue that the more firms have market power, the more they have both the ability and the need to gain political power. Thus, market concentration can easily lead to a “Medici vicious circle,” where money is used to get political power and political power is used to make money.

Suggested Citation

  • Luigi Zingales, 2017. "Towards a Political Theory of the Firm," NBER Working Papers 23593, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23593
    Note: CF
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w23593.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Autor & David Dorn & Lawrence F. Katz & Christina Patterson & John Van Reenen, 2017. "Concentrating on the Fall of the Labor Share," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 180-185, May.
    2. Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, 2001. "The Firm as a Dedicated Hierarchy: A Theory of the Origins and Growth of Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(3), pages 805-851.
    3. Stephen Ansolabehere & John M. de Figueiredo & James M. Snyder Jr, 2003. "Why is There so Little Money in U.S. Politics?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 105-130, Winter.
    4. Bruce A. Blonigen & Justin R. Pierce, 2016. "Evidence for the Effects of Mergers on Market Power and Efficiency," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2016-082, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    5. Brown, Jeffrey R. & Huang, Jiekun, 2020. "All the president's friends: Political access and firm value," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(2), pages 415-431.
    6. Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, 1998. "Power in a Theory of the Firm," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(2), pages 387-432.
    7. John Haltiwanger, 2016. "Firm Dynamics and Productivity: TFPQ, TFPR, and Demand Side Factors," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Fall 2016), pages 3-26, October.
    8. Alchian, Armen A & Demsetz, Harold, 1972. "Production , Information Costs, and Economic Organization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(5), pages 777-795, December.
    9. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August.
    10. Gao, Xiaohui & Ritter, Jay R. & Zhu, Zhongyan, 2013. "Where Have All the IPOs Gone?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(6), pages 1663-1692, December.
    11. Henry G. Manne, 1965. "Mergers and the Market for Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73(2), pages 110-110.
    12. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    13. Aghion, Philippe & Akcigit, Ufuk & Howitt, Peter, 2014. "What Do We Learn From Schumpeterian Growth Theory?," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 515-563, Elsevier.
    14. Klein, Benjamin & Crawford, Robert G & Alchian, Armen A, 1978. "Vertical Integration, Appropriable Rents, and the Competitive Contracting Process," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 297-326, October.
    15. Henry G. Manne, 1965. "Mergers and the Market for Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73(4), pages 351-351.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vallés, Javier & Salas Fumás, Vicente & San Juan, Lucio, 2022. "Corporate economic profits in the euro area: The relevance of cost competitive advantage," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 569-585.
    2. Giuliani, Elisa, 2018. "Regulating global capitalism amid rampant corporate wrongdoing—Reply to “Three frames for innovation policy”," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1577-1582.
    3. Boris Begović & Dušan Popović, 2019. "Merger Control and Economic Growth of LDCs: Some Observations and Recommendations," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 54(2), pages 381-408, March.
    4. Hao, Liang & Rong, Wang & Haikun, Zhu, 2020. "Growing up under Mao and Deng : On the ideological determinants of corporate policies," BOFIT Discussion Papers 20/2020, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    5. Marina M. Lebedeva & Maxim V. Kharkevich, 2018. "The Role of Business in Transforming the Political Organization of the World," Outlines of global transformations: politics, economics, law, Center for Crisis Society Studies, vol. 11(1).
    6. Cardillo, Giovanni & Cotugno, Matteo & Perdichizzi, Salvatore & Torluccio, Giuseppe, 2024. "Bank market power and supervisory enforcement actions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    7. Pitelis, Christos N & Tomlinson, Philip R, 2017. "Industrial organisation, the degree of monopoly and macroeconomic performance – A perspective on the contribution of Keith Cowling (1936–2016)," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 182-189.
    8. Chen, Deqiu & Ma, Yujing & Martin, Xiumin & Michaely, Roni, 2022. "On the fast track: Information acquisition costs and information production," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(2), pages 794-823.
    9. Charis Vlados & Dimos Chatzinikolaou, 2019. "Towards a Restructuration of the Conventional SWOT Analysis," Business and Management Studies, Redfame publishing, vol. 5(2), pages 76-84, June.
    10. S. Taniguchi, Kazuhiro, 2022. "Why Fukushima? A diachronic and multilevel comparative institutional analysis of a nuclear disaster," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    11. Bae, Kee-Hong & Bailey, Warren & Kang, Jisok, 2021. "Why is stock market concentration bad for the economy?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(2), pages 436-459.
    12. Brown, Jeffrey R. & Huang, Jiekun, 2020. "All the president's friends: Political access and firm value," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(2), pages 415-431.
    13. Child, Travers Barclay & Massoud, Nadia & Schabus, Mario & Zhou, Yifan, 2021. "Surprise election for Trump connections," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(2), pages 676-697.
    14. Røpke, Inge, 2020. "Econ 101—In need of a sustainability transition," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    15. Liang, Hao & Wang, Rong & Zhu, Haikun, 2020. "Growing up under Mao and Deng: On the ideological determinants of corporate policies," BOFIT Discussion Papers 20/2020, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    16. Leppälä, Samuli, 2021. "A partially exclusive rent-seeking contest," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 60-75.
    17. repec:zbw:bofitp:2020_020 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Martin, Julien & Toubal, Farid, 2020. "Corporate tax avoidance and sales: micro evidence and aggregate implications," CEPR Discussion Papers 15060, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zingales, Luigi, 2017. "Towards a Political Theory of the Firm," Working Papers 265, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    2. Committee, Nobel Prize, 2016. "Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström: Contract Theory," Nobel Prize in Economics documents 2016-1, Nobel Prize Committee.
    3. Eduard Marinov, 2016. "The 2016 Nobel Prize in Economics," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 6, pages 97-149.
    4. Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, 1998. "The Governance of the New Enterprise," CRSP working papers 487, Center for Research in Security Prices, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
    5. Luigi Zingales, 2000. "In Search of New Foundations," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1623-1653, August.
    6. Christos Pitelis, 2013. "Towards a More ‘Ethically Correct’ Governance for Economic Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 655-665, December.
    7. Mahoney, Joseph T., 2012. "Towards a Stakeholder Theory of Strategic Management," Working Papers 12-0100, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    8. Krishna B. Kumar & Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales, "undated". "What Determines Firm Size?," CRSP working papers 496, Center for Research in Security Prices, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
    9. Antoine Rebérioux, 2005. "Les fondements microéconomiques de la valeur actionnariale. Une revue critique de la littérature," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 56(1), pages 51-75.
    10. Klein, Peter G. & Mahoney, Joseph T. & McGahan, Anita M. & Pitelis, Christos N., 2012. "Who Is in Charge? A Property Rights Perspective on Stakeholder Governance," Working Papers 12-0102, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    11. Matthias Kiefer & Edward Jones & Andrew Adams, 2016. "Principals, Agents and Incomplete Contracts: Are Surrender of Control and Renegotiation the Solution?," CFI Discussion Papers 1603, Centre for Finance and Investment, Heriot Watt University.
    12. Claire A. Hill & Brett H. McDonnell, 2012. "Introduction: The Evolution of the Economic Analysis of Corporate Law," Chapters, in: Claire A. Hill & Brett H. McDonnell (ed.), Research Handbook on the Economics of Corporate Law, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Howell, Jason W., 2017. "The survival of the U.S. dual class share structure," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 440-450.
    14. David B. Audretsch & Erik E. Lehmann, 2013. "Corporate governance in newly listed companies," Chapters, in: Mario Levis & Silvio Vismara (ed.), Handbook of Research on IPOs, chapter 9, pages 179-206, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Bernard Baudry & Virgile Chassagnon, 2012. "The vertical network organization as a specific governance structure: what are the challenges for incomplete contracts theories and what are the theoretical implications for the boundaries of the (hub," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(2), pages 285-303, May.
    16. Alexander Brink, 2010. "Enlightened Corporate Governance: Specific Investments by Employees as Legitimation for Residual Claims," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(4), pages 641-651, June.
    17. Julia Porter Liebeskind, 2000. "Internal Capital Markets: Benefits, Costs, and Organizational Arrangements," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 11(1), pages 58-76, February.
    18. Louis De Alessi, 1989. "The Effect of Institutions on the Choices of Consumers and Providers of Health Care," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 1(4), pages 427-458, October.
    19. Cecile Cezanne-Sintes, 2008. "Modern corporate changes: reinstating the link between the nature, boundaries and governance of the firm," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 447-461.
    20. James M. Mahoney & Joseph T. Mahoney, 1993. "Abstract," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(1), pages 17-31, January.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23593. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.