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The History of the Concept of Transaction Costs: Neglected Aspects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2009

Matthias Klaes
Matthias Klaes
Affiliation:
Institute for Philosophy and Economics (EIPE), Erasmus University, FdW 5-06, P.O. Box 1738, NL-3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherland.
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According to the folk history of transaction costs, the concept is due to a seminal article by Ronald H. Coase, written in the 1930s. Failing to provide an operational framework, Coase's article was neglected for a long time, or so the story continues. In the 1970s, after the limits of the Arrow-Debreu paradigm had become obvious, several authors, including Oliver E. Williamson, Kenneth J. Arrow, Armen A. Alchian, and Harold Demsetz, took up the notion of transaction costs and turned it into a useful analytical tool. Partly responsible for this sudden upsurge of interest was an article by Coase in which he allegedly proposed the now famous “Coase Theorem.”

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the History of Economic Thought , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , June 2000 , pp. 191 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © The History of Economics Society 2000

References

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