Traces the evolution of the corporation in England, from Greco‐Roman times to the Joint Companies Act of 1862. The evolution suggests a supply of the corporate form that responded to the demands of the marketplace. With the growing specialization of labour in the markets, the corporate form...

This essay presents a theory of the State as derived from the writings of Coase, Stigler, and Smith. It argues that the state may find a role in (1) lowering the level of transactions costs; and (2) redistributing property rights given the level of non‐zero transactions costs. These tenets...

New Zealand’s 1993 Companies Act defines reckless trading as when a director/manager induces a “substantial risk of serious loss to the company’s creditors”. The definition contrasts with international common and statutory law that holds managers personally liable only under...