This overview of transaction cost economics is organized around the "Carnegie Tripleʺ be disciplined; be interdisciplinary; have an active mind. The first of these urges those who would open up the black box of economic organization to do so in a modest, slow, molecular, definitive way, with the...

By virtually any measure, Oliver Williamson has been one of the most influential scholars in the economic organization and institutions. He is widely credited (including by Ronald Coase himself) with rescuing transaction cost economics from its tautological origins by showing how the advantages...

This paper explores the functions and limitations of democratic governance by analyzing the allocation of decision-making authority in colleges and universities. Contrary to the conventional perception that large numbers and heterogeneity of voters and issues undermine the efficiency of...

This paper considers functions of contracting other than the protection of relationship-specific investments and the provision of marginal incentives, and applies the theory to explain variation in the form of compensation of over-the-road truck drivers in the U.S. Specifically, we argue that...