----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- J. Womack asks how did Coase get in here? To the extent that property rights are the essence of economic institutions, and to the extent that a firm is a manifestation of particular institutional arrangements (that is, a firm is a going concern defined by particular institutional arrangements that have obtained social legitimacy), then Coase (1937) and Coase (1960) easily fits. And, in this context, we should not overlook Commons' LEGAL FOUNDATIONS OF CAPITALISM as pertinent to the study of economic institutions which--to many of us--comprise the "legal" foundations (a la Wesley Hohfeld) of an economy (whether capitalist or otherwise). Dan Bromley ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]