The Theory of the Firm

The Theory of the Firm presents a path-breaking general framework for understanding the economics of the firm. The book addresses why firms exist, how firms are established, and what contributions firms make to the economy. The book presents a new theoretical analysis of the foundations of microeconomics that makes institutions endogenous. Entrepreneurs play a central economic role by establishing firms. In turn, firms create and operate markets and organizations. The book provides innovative models of economic equilibrium that endogenously determine the structure and function of economic institutions. The book proposes an "intermediation hypothesis" - the establishment of firms depends on the effects of transaction costs and on the extent of the market.

Author: Daniel F. Spulber
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 04/06/2009
Pages: 544
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 2.05lbs
Size: 9.90h x 6.90w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9780521736602

Review Citation(s):
Choice 03/01/2010

About the Author
Spulber, Daniel F.: - Daniel F. Spulber is the Elinor Hobbs Distinguished Professor of International Business and Professor of Management Strategy at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. He is the founding editor of the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy. Founder of Kellogg's International Business and Markets Program, his current research is in the area of entrepreneurship, international economics, economics of organizations, industrial organization, management strategy, and law. Spulber is the author of 11 books, including Networks in Telecommunications: Economics and Law (with Christopher Yoo, forthcoming), Global Competitive Strategy (2007), Market Microstructure: Intermediaries and the Theory of the Firm (1999), and Deregulatory Takings and the Regulatory Contract: The Competitive Transformation of Network Industries in the United States (with J. Gregory Sidak, 1997), all from Cambridge University Press, and Management Strategy (2004), The Market Makers (1998), and Regulation and Markets (1989).