From Economic Man to Economic System: Essays on Human Behavior and the Institutions of Capitalism

The essays in this book discuss human behavior and the institutions of capitalism. The essays are non-technical and are written so as to be accessible to students of all disciplines and to all other persons interested in capitalism and in economic behavior. They often present unconventional views of the topics they discuss. Those containing unconventional views discuss self-interested behavior, selfish gene theory, the meaning and social function of private ownership, the externality problem, the nature of the firm and the rise of capitalism. The essays are not meant to be a textbook, but they offer a useful supplementary reading source for courses in business, economics and law that deal with human behavior in the marketplace and with capitalism, ownership, markets and firms.

Table of Contents:
1. Where economic man dwells; 2. Economic man's escape from Mathus's population trap; 3. Protecting you from yourself; 4. Rescuing economic man from the selfish gene; 5. Crossing disciplinary boundaries; 6. The late arrival of capitalism; 7. Ownership and exchange; 8. Reinterpreting the externality problem; 9. Firms and households as substitutes; 10. The contrast between firms and political parties; 11. The public corporation: its ownership and control; 12. Public policy's indirect effects on the control, organization, and importance of firms.

About the Author :
Harold Demsetz is Arthur Anderson UCLA Alumni Emeritus Professor of Business Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he has taught since 1971 and where he directed UCLA's business economics program. He earned a Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1959. Counted among the world's 100 most eminent economists in Mark Blaug's book Great Economists Since Keynes, Professor Demsetz also holds honorary doctorates from Northwestern University and Francisco Marraquin University. His published work was recently ranked as among the top ten most frequently cited body of works by an economist. Who's Who in America and Who's Who in Economics, among other directories, include his biography. A Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Past President of the Western Economics Association International, Professor Demsetz has also served as Director of the Mont Pelerin Society and of the International Society for New Institutional Economics. He has been a senior editor of the Supreme Court Economic Review, a founding member of the American Society of Law and Economics, and a member of the advisory boards of the International Journal of Economics and Business and the Journal of Corporate Finance. Professor Demsetz's research is focused on property rights, the business firm, and problems in monopoly, competition, and antitrust. He is the author of numerous professional articles, four books, and three published monographs of honorary lectures. His most recent book, The Economics of the Business Firm: Seven Critical Commentaries (Cambridge University Press, 1995), has been translated into Chinese, French, and Spanish.

Review :
'This lovely set of essays provides a small intellectual feast. The readings are a delight for the thoughtful economist and should be an excellent supplement for any number of undergraduate or graduate economic courses or law school offerings.' Lloyd Cohen, George Mason University 'Harold Demsetz's contributions to economics are well known for their simple originality and have laid important foundations in many areas of economics. With this book, Harold Demsetz continues to spoil his audience with a wide-ranging array of novel and thought-provoking essays.' Francesco Parisi, University of Minnesota and University of Bologna 'The book From Economic Man to Economic System is an excellent piece of research, which focuses on various economic discussions of individual behavior and the behaviour of economic institutions. Tackling the important issues of self-interest and capitalism and its institutions, it is worthwhile reading for everyone who is interested in economic decisions and economic institutions.' Friedrich Schneider, Johannes Kepler University of Linz 'From Economic Man to Economic System brings Harold Demsetz's deep learning and analytical insights to bear on ongoing intellectual debates addressing the efficiency (and efficacy) of unfettered market capitalism, the regulation of environmental quality and the modern business corporation, and the causes of the wealth of nations. The 11 essays collected here are uniformly well crafted and thought-provoking. Maintaining accessibility without sacrificing rigor, Professor Demsetz traces the institutions of capitalism - the market and the firm - to their source, masterfully probing the nature of Homo Economicus in that agent's starkest manifestation, thereby laying a foundation for astute commentaries on the selfish gene versus economically rational altruism, on the problems of establishing and defining ownership rights, on private property rights versus communal rights, on misinterpretations of the Coasian concept of 'transaction costs,' and on the consequences of confusing transaction costs with the costs of using the price system. The product of a lifetime of reflection by one of the economics profession's most penetrating thinkers, From Economic Man to Economic System will be of interest to economists, legal scholars and many others.' William F. Shughart II, F. A. P. Barnard Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Mississippi