From Economic Man to Economic System
Essays on Human Behavior and the Institutions of Capitalism

The essays in this book discuss human behavior and the institutions of capitalism.

Harold Demsetz (Author)

9780521509978, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 1 September 2008

198 pages
22.9 x 15.7 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg

Review of the hardback: 'From Economic Man to Economic System brings Harold Demsetz's deep learning and analytical insights to bear on ongoing intellectual debates addressing the efficiency (and efficacy) of unfettered market capitalism, the regulation of environmental quality and the modern business corporation, and the causes of the wealth of nations. The … essays collected here are uniformly well crafted and thought-provoking. The product of a lifetime of reflection by one of the economics profession's most penetrating thinkers, From Economic Man to Economic System will be of interest to economists, legal scholars and many others.' William F. Shughart, II, F. A. P. Barnard Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of Mississippi

The essays in this book discuss human behavior and the institutions of capitalism. The essays are non-technical and are written so as to be accessible to students of all disciplines and to all other persons interested in capitalism and in economic behavior. They often present unconventional views of the topics they discuss. Those containing unconventional views discuss self-interested behavior, selfish gene theory, the meaning and social function of private ownership, the externality problem, the nature of the firm and the rise of capitalism. The essays are not meant to be a textbook, but they offer a useful supplementary reading source for courses in business, economics and law that deal with human behavior in the marketplace and with capitalism, ownership, markets and firms.

1. Where economic man dwells
2. Economic man's escape from Mathus's population trap
3. Protecting you from yourself
4. Rescuing economic man from the selfish gene
5. Crossing disciplinary boundaries
6. The late arrival of capitalism
7. Ownership and exchange
8. Reinterpreting the externality problem
9. Firms and households as substitutes
10. The contrast between firms and political parties
11. The public corporation: its ownership and control
12. Public policy's indirect effects on the control, organization, and importance of firms.

Subject Areas: Organizational theory & behaviour [KJU], Economic history [KCZ], Political economy [KCP], Economic theory & philosophy [KCA], Economics [KC], Psychology [JM]