Scholarship (Affiliate)
Modeling Coase Theorem Worlds: Why the History of Economic Analysis Matters for the History of (Economic) Science
Abstract
This paper uses the two-decade controversy over the Coase theorem’s long-run validity to highlight the importance of the history of economic analysis for understanding and writing the history of (economic) science. The argument is that in many instances a reasonably accurate understanding of why economic ideas evolved as they did and thus of particulars of what passes for economic knowledge at any given point in time, requires grappling with the theoretical (or empirical) nitty-gritty. In short, the minutia of the analysis itself is part of, and often a key element of, the knowledge production function.
Read the full piece at SSRN.