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The three roles of the 'Coase theorem' in Coase's works

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  • Elodie Bertrand

Abstract

This article aims at understanding Coase's apparently paradoxical attitude towards his eponym 'theorem'. On the one hand, he judges as excessive the attention devoted to an assertion that makes the assumption of zero transaction costs. On the other, he has never stopped reasserting its largely questioned validity. We explain this puzzle by identifying three roles of the 'Coase theorem' in his works: heuristic (to bring to light the role of transaction costs), critical (of the Pigovian tradition), and normative (Coase derives policy prescriptions).

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  • Elodie Bertrand, 2010. "The three roles of the 'Coase theorem' in Coase's works," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 975-1000.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:eujhet:v:17:y:2010:i:4:p:975-1000
    DOI: 10.1080/09672560903552553
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    1. Warren J. Samuels & Steven G. Medema & A. A. Schmid, 1997. "The Economy as a Process of Valuation," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1088.
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    Cited by:

    1. Stéphane Gonzalez & Alain Marciano, 2017. "De nouveaux éclairages sur le théorème de Coase et la vacuité du cœur," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 127(4), pages 579-600.
    2. Alain Marciano, 2019. "Ronald H. Coase (1910–2013)," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Robert A. Cord (ed.), The Palgrave Companion to LSE Economics, chapter 0, pages 555-577, Palgrave Macmillan.
    3. Kirk D. Johnson & Steven G. Medema & Warren J. Samuels, 2014. "The 8th Duke of Argyll, the Economics of Land Tenancy, and Stigler?s "Coase Theorem"," HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT AND POLICY, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(2), pages 5-28.
    4. Gérard Mondello, 2023. ""The Problem of the Social Cost" and the Legal Rights Question," GREDEG Working Papers 2023-04, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.

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