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Файл:History of economic thought. Textbook
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Forestry Commission, then at the Central Statistical Service. In 1951, R. Coase
moved to the USA. There he taught at various universities.
Main works: "The Nature of the Firm" (1937), "British Broadcasting: A Study
in Monopoly" (1950), "The Firm, the Market and the Law" (1988), "The Problem of
Social Cost" (1960), etc.
Coase is best known for his two articles: "The Nature of the Firm" and "The
Problem of Social Cost".
Coase discovered the existence of transaction costs in economics. All
transactions in the economy are associated with additional costs: negotiating,
searching for information, resolving disagreements, etc., i.e. solving problems within
the market causes transaction costs, which Coase called transaction costs, or "costs of
using the market mechanism".
Coase was the first economist to put forward the idea that transaction costs
affect the size and organizational structure of a firm.
Coase also tries to solve the problem of externalities. External effects
(externalities) are by-products of any activity that affect people who are not directly
related to this activity. For example, passers-by admire beautiful fences, flower beds,
private buildings — positive external effects. City residents breathe polluted air from
a private factory — negative externalities.
Before Coase, the English economist Arthur Pigou called cases of negative
externalities "market failures" and considered it necessary for the state to intervene in
such situations. Coase believed that in many cases the market itself would be able to
cope with this, the parties could agree among themselves.
Coase gives examples showing that the problem of externalities can be solved
by redistributing property rights. If the production of chemicals pollutes a river, those
responsible must pay amounts corresponding to the cost of cleaning the river, or limit
the pollution. If the noise of the machinery disturbs the work of the doctor, the
violating neighbor must compensate the victim for moving to another place or,
having received compensation from the doctor, leave himself.
The parties will be able to reach an agreement if two conditions are met:
1) property rights must be clearly defined;
2) the cost of concluding an agreement should be low (i.e., transaction costs
are zero).
If the size of the negative effects is very significant (for example, during the
construction of a large enterprise with hazardous production), then it is advisable for
the state to participate.
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Thus, Coase concludes, "direct government regulation does not always produce
better results than simply leaving the problem to the will of the market or the firm".
This conclusion of Coase in economic literature is called the Coase theorem.
Theory of economic organizations (D. North, O. Williamson)
This theory is devoted to the problems of the company. The company is being
viewed from the position of internal organization (which unites for a long period the
owners of production factors on the basis of contracts) as a structure for managing
transaction costs.
Institutional analysis of an organization covers several aspects and,
accordingly, theories, including the economic theory of organizations, the theory of
agents, and the theory of contracts.
The theory of economic organizations was developed by:
- Douglas North (1920–2015) — American economist, Nobel Prize laureate in
Economics 1993;
- Oliver Williamson (1932–2020) — American economist, winner of the
Nobel Prize in Economics in 2009 with the wording "for research in the field of
economic organization";
- Herbert Simon (1916–2001) — American economist, author of the theory of
bounded rationality, Nobel Prize winner in Economics in 1978 "for his pioneering
research into the decision-making process in economic organizations and firms".
Public choice theory (J. Buchanan)
This theory is associated with the study of the use of government
organizations, the system of government and political relations. This theory is also
called "new political economy".
Its author is James McGill Buchanan (1919–2013), an American economist,
winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize "for his study of the contractual and constitutional
foundations of the theory of economic and political decision-making".
The essence of the theory. In the political sphere people act as in the
economy: they pursue their individual, not public interests. Moreover, all participants
(from voters to the president) compare benefits and costs when making decisions.
The political market is not much different from the commodity market. Phenomena
such as the voting paradox (when a majority of votes does not reveal actual
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preferences), logrolling, or "log rolling" (the practice of mutual support of deputies
through "vote trading") are considered.
An important place in the theory of public choice is also occupied by the
"economy of bureaucracy", which is understood as a layer of people serving not
society, but individual groups, and pursuing their own economic interests.
In a private firm, the simple measure of performance is profit growth. There is
no such clear criterion in the state apparatus. The usual response to failures of
previously adopted programs is to increase appropriations and staffing levels. All this
contributes to the swelling of the state apparatus — people engaged in the search for
political rent (economic income through the political process).
Behavioral Economics
One of the latest trends in the development of economic thought is the
development of an interdisciplinary concept on the verge of economics, psychology,
sociology, ethics, philosophy — behavioral economics. Behavioral economics has
collected all the accumulated research on the decision-making process of an
individual, brought the human model as close as possible to reality, and showed his
irrationality.
Behavioral economics began to emerge in the 1950s. During this period, G.
Simon proposed the idea of limited rationality, which is opposed to the model of man
in the neoclassical concept. This idea takes into account the limited rationality of a
person, including his non-absolute memory, not unlimited mental and cognitive
abilities, and an incorrect assessment of the probability of desired events, etc. All
these factors lead to errors in the operation of the neoclassical model.
Work on behavioral economics was awarded by the Nobel Committee. In
2002, the winners were psychologist Daniel Kahneman (born 1934) (Princeton
University, USA) and economist Vernon Smith (born 1927) (University of
Jerusalem, Israel). Both of these scientists showed that people in reality do not act as
intelligently and rationally as described in classical economic theories. In essence, the
Nobel Prize was awarded for recognizing that psychological and behavioral errors
that are inherent in human nature have a significant impact on human economic
decisions.
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COURSE TESTS ON THE HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT
SECTION 1. ECONOMIC EXERCISES
OF THE PRE-MARKET ECONOMY ERA
Choose the only correct answer.
1. Find the incorrect statement:
a) "The Admonitions of Ipuwer" is a monument to the economic thought of
Ancient Egypt;
b) "The Laws of Bilalama" is a monument to the economic thought of Ancient
India;
c) "The Code of Hammurabi" is a monument to the economic thought of
Babylonia;
d) "Guanzi" is a political and economic treatise of Ancient China.
2. Find a monument of economic thought that does not relate to Ancient
India:
a) "Mahabharata";
b) "Laws of Manu";
c) "Solon’s Reforms";
d) "Arthashastra".
3. Which of the ancient scientists coined the concept of "economics"?
a) Aristotle;
b) Plato;
c) Xenophon;
d) Hesiod.
4. Which of the ancient philosophers is called the first economist?
a) Aristotle;
b) Plato;
c) Xenophon;
d) Hesiod.
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5. Who is the author of the work "Oeconomicus"?
a) Aristotle;
b) Plato;
c) Xenophon;
d) Hesiod.
6. What does Aristotle classify as chrematistics?
a) agriculture;
b) craft;
c) small trade;
d) usury and trading for wealth.
7. Find the incorrect statement:
a) Aristotle created the theory of the golden mean;
b) in the work "The State" Plato proposes a project for an ideal social structure;
c) the economic thought of Ancient Rome was aimed mainly at solving
agrarian problems and the rational organization of large slaveholding farms;
d) Aristotle opposed slavery and private property.
8. The following does not apply to scientists of Ancient Rome:
a) Solon;
b) Cato;
c) Varro;
d) Columella.
9. Find the correct statement:
a) the main focus of medieval economic doctrines was the justification of the
class character of feudal society, the concentration of power in the hands of feudal
lords, the definition of the principles of rational organization of the local
economy, etc.;
b) the economic thought of the Middle Ages reflected the contradictions
between subsistence farming and commodity market relations;
c) the economic relations of the Middle Ages were strongly influenced by
religious and ethical norms;
d) all statements are true.
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10. Medieval thinkers who expressed economic ideas include:
a) Ibn Khaldun, Thomas Aquinas, Nicholas Orezm;
b) Xenophon, Plato, Aristotle;
c) Thomas Mun, Antoine de Montchrestien, John Law;
d) Thomas Malthus, Jean Baptiste Say, John Stuart Mill.
11. The work "Summa Theologica" belongs to F. Aquinas.
a) yes; b) no.
12. "Treatise on the origin, nature, law, and alterations of money" was
written by Nicole Oresme.
a) yes; b) no.
13. The book "Utopia" was written by T. Munzer.
a) yes; b) no.
14. Who is the author of the statement: "It is clear that the art of making a
fortune is not identical to the science of the household: in one case we are talking
about acquiring funds, in the other — about using them. In the art of making a
fortune there is never a limit to achieving the goal, and the goal here is wealth
and the possession of money. On the contrary, in the area related to the
household, and not to the art of making a fortune, there is a limit, since the goal
of the household is not the accumulation of money"?
a) F. Aquinas;
b) Ibn Khaldun;
c) Aristotle;
d) Xenophon.
15. Identify the author: "In the City of the Sun, where responsibilities,
arts, labors and works are distributed among everyone, everyone has to work no
more than four hours a day; the rest of the time is spent in pleasant studies,
interviews, reading, stories, writing, walking, developing mental and physical
abilities, and all this is done joyfully".
a) Plato;
b) Yaroslav the Wise;
c) T. More;
d) T. Campanella.
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16. Which author’s book marked the beginning of a new direction in the
history of social thought — utopian socialism?
a) K. Marx;
b) V.I. Lenin;
c) A. de Montchrestien;
d) T. More.
17. Which monument of Russian economic thought contained advice on
managing the economy of a wealthy family?
a) "Russian Truth";
b) "Domostroy";
c) "Code of Law";
d) "Procurement Charter".
18. The independent development of economic theory began:
a) in the era of the emergence of market relations in the 16th–17th centuries;
b) in the 19th–20th centuries;
c) in the Ancient world BC;
d) in the Middle Ages.
19. The history of economic doctrines explores:
a) the historical process of emergence, development and change of economic
ideas and views;
b) the life and creative path of academic economists;
c) the relationship of various theoretical views with the conditions and reasons
for their occurrence, the needs of economic practice;
d) all answers are correct.
20. Representatives of economic thought of the pre-market era idealized:
a) market economic relations;
b) natural-economic relations;
c) large trade and usurious transactions;
d) all answers are incorrect.
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SECTION 2. ECONOMIC EXERCISES OF THE ERA
OF UNREGULATED MARKET ECONOMY
Choose the only correct answer.
1. Find the correct statement about mercantilism:
a) mercantilism is a doctrine based on the labor theory of value;
b) mercantilists support state non-interference in the economy;
c) wealth for mercantilists consists of gold and treasures of any kind, to
increase which it is necessary to regulate foreign trade: encourage exports and limit
imports;
d) mercantilists considered it necessary to destroy private property and
inequality of the population.
2. Find the incorrect statement:
a) A. de Montchrestien is considered the author of the concept of "political
economy";
b) the poem "The Fable of the Bees: or, Private Vices, Publick Benefits" was
written by B. Mandeville;
c) John Law is considered the first banker in the history of economics;
d) the work "England's Treasure by Foreign Trade" belongs to A. Smith.
3. Find the correct statement:
a) early mercantilism was a trade balance system;
b) late mercantilism is a system of monetary balance;
c) representatives of early mercantilism are B. Mandeville, J. Law;
d) representatives of late mercantilism are T. Mun and A. de Montchrestien.
4. The subject of study of classical political economy is:
a) sphere of circulation;
b) the sphere of production;
c) the sphere of circulation and the sphere of production simultaneously;
d) sphere of consumption.
5. In accordance with classical political economy, money is:
a) artificial invention of people;
b) the most important factor of economic growth;
c) a technical tool, a thing that facilitates exchange.
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6. According to the teachings of F. Quesnay, a "pure product" is created:
a) in trade;
b) in agricultural production;
c) in industry.
7. "The Invisible Hand" by A. Smith is:
a) the mechanism of state management of the economy in the interests of the
whole society;
b) action in conditions of free competition of objective economic laws that do
not depend on the will and intentions of the individual;
c) a management mechanism determined by divine providence.
8. A. Smith considers labor productive if it is applied:
a) in agricultural production;
b) in any branch of material production;
c) in the sectors of material and non-material production.
9. Who formulated the theory of comparative advantage in international
trade?
a) A. Smith;
b) D. Ricardo;
c) J. B. Say;
d) T. Malthus.
10. Who substantiated the population theory, according to which
population growth significantly outpaces food production, so it is necessary to
curb human reproduction in different ways?
a) A. Smith;
b) D. Ricardo;
c) J. B. Say;
d) T. Malthus.
11. Which economist first pointed out the equivalence of labor, land and
capital in the production of a product?
a) A. Smith;
b) D. Ricardo;
c) J. B. Say;
d) J. St. Mill.
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12. Who characterizes the category "capital" as a means of exploitation of
the worker and as a self-increasing value?
a) A. Smith;
b) D. Ricardo;
c) J. B. Say;
d) K. Marx.
13. Romantic economists put forward reform concepts, according to which
the following are declared natural:
a) the economy of free competition;
b) socialist economy;
c) the economy of small owners;
d) capitalist economy with large property.
14. Find the incorrect statement:
a) according to utopian socialists, private property has priority;
b) utopian socialists include A. Saint-Simon, R. Owen, C. Fourier;
c) the followers of Saint-Simon founded the Saint-Simonist church and
organized a religious commune;
d) R. Owen was a practitioner of socialism.
15. The historical school of Germany considers as a subject of economic
analysis:
a) the sphere of production;
b) the sphere of trade;
c) the sphere of circulation;
d) economic and non-economic factors.
16. Marginalism is based on the research of:
a) total economic values;
b) average economic values;
c) marginal economic values.
17. Marginalists determine cost (value) based on:
a) the labor theory;
b) the cost theory;
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