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Clubs, Coase, and the Role of Government

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  • James Roumasset

    (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University; Economics Department, University of Hawaii; and University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization)

Abstract

As Ronald Coase and others have shown, deducing the appropriate role of government in the economy requires a comparative institutions approach. Trying to generalize from oversimplified specifications regarding transaction costs, according to whether exclusion is possible or not, is a futile exercise. An alternative to the Ostrom matrix is to distinguish private, club, and collective consumption goods according to their technical characteristics, specifically their degree of congestabiilty. The other box of the Ostrom matrix, “common pool” resources, can also be usefully analyzed from a club perspective. Spillover goods are spatial clubs. Lastly, a version of the Coase theorem is offered that provides the foundation of comparative institutional analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • James Roumasset, 2020. "Clubs, Coase, and the Role of Government," Working Papers 202007, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hai:wpaper:202007
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    File URL: http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/workingpapers/WP_20-07.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Edwyna Harris & Sumner La Croix, 2018. "Did Speculation in Land Pay Off for British Investors? Buying and Selecting Land in South Australia, 1835-1850," Working Papers 201809, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public goods; club goods; congestability; Ostrom matrix; comparative institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods

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