China's consumption rate is widely believed to be too low. In this paper, we show that official statistics have significantly underestimated Chinese household consumption. First, housing consumption is grossly underestimated due to the construction cost-based method. Second, a lot of private...

This paper attempts to formalize the transaction cost theory of the firm. Building on the formal approach of Grossman and Hart (1986), a model is developed to capture the essential elements of the transaction cost theory, particularly those that are distinct from the formal property rights...

As an extension of Wang & Zhu (2005), this short paper shows that the popular 51:49 equity structure can be optimal. This equity structure in joint ventures (JVs) has puzzled economists the world over. We find that, when the two parties are highly asymmetric in their abilities to acquire private...

This paper develops a simple structural model of the boundaries of the firm to formalize some of the aspects of the Williamsonian transaction cost economics that are distinct from Grossman, Hart and Moore's formal property rights theory. We build on two ideas. First, we employ Williamson's idea...