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The terms "external economies" and "external diseconomies" were widely 
used in the literature for several decades prior to Coase.  It seems 
reasonable to assume that these terms are the origin of the term 
"externalities," but I have no hard evidence to support that at hand. 
 
Francis Bator ("The Anatomy of Market Failure" QJE) used the term 
"externalities" in 1958, as did Samuelson (in Re. Stat.).  As neither 
acted as if they were coining the term, it seems reasonable to assume that 
it existed prior to their writing.  A quick search of JSTOR reveals 
nothing in JSTOR journals under "externality" or "externalities" prior to 
Bator though. 
 
Steve Medema 
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