1st Edition

A Brief Prehistory of the Theory of the Firm

By Paul Walker Copyright 2018
    140 Pages
    by Routledge

    140 Pages 5 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The theory of the firm did not exist, in any serious manner, until around 1970. Only then did the current theory of the firm literature begin to emerge, based largely upon the work of Ronald Coase and to a lesser degree Frank Knight. It was work by Armen Alchian, Robert Crawford, Harold Demsetz, Michael Jensen, Benjamin Klein, William Meckling and Oliver Williamson, among others, that drove the upswing in interest in the firm among mainstream economists.





    This accessible book provides a valuable overview of the ‘prehistory’ of the firm. Spanning an impressive timeline, it delves into Antiquity, the Medieval era, the pre-classical economics period and the 19th and 20th centuries. Next, the book traces the theoretical contributions from pre-classical, classical and neoclassical economics.





    It will be illuminating reading for students and researchers of the history of economic thought, industrial organization, microeconomic theory and business history.

    1 Background



    Notes



    References



    2 The division of labour and the firm



    Ancient philosophers



    Medieval period



    Pre-classical economics period



    19th century



    20th century



    Notes



    References



    3 Development of a theory of production or the firm



    Pre-classical economists



    The classical economics period



    The neoclassical era



    Behavioural and managerial models



    Contemporary criticisms of the neoclassical model



    Coase versus Demsetz on the neoclassical model



    Profit maximisation



    Malmgren (1961)



    Notes



    References



    4 Possible reasons for the neglect of the firm



    Notes



    References

    Biography

    Paul Walker is an economist in Christchurch, New Zealand. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. His research is mainly on the history of economics and the theory of the firm.