The Economics of the Business Firm: Seven Critical Commentaries

ISBN-13: 9780521588652 / Angielski / Miękka / 1996 / 192 str.

Harold Demsetz

Opis

The essays in this volume break new ground in the theory of the business firm and its applications in economics. A leading analyst of industrial organization, Professor Demsetz critically examines current debates on the existence, definition, and organization of the firm and discusses issues related to the emerging theory of the firm. He then analyzes the relation among business ownership, wealth, and economic development. Subsequent essays offer new perspectives on competition, profit maximization and rational behavior, and shed new light on managers' compensation, antitrust policy, and the accuracy of firms' accounting data.

Recenzje

'… a stimulating and challenging collection of essays which will certainly repay careful reading by those concerned with the issues which Demsetz tackles.' D. P. O'Brien, The Economic Journal

Spis treści

Preface; First Commentary. The firm in theory: its definition and existence; Second Commentary. Agency and non-agency explanations of the firm's organization; Third Commentary. Enterprise control, wealth, and economic development; Fourth Commentary. Profit maximization and rational behavior; Fifth Commentary. The use and abuse of accounting profit data; Sixth Commentary. Management compensation and tournament theory; Seventh commentary. The intensity and dimensionality of competition; References.