Norms and the Theory of the Firm

Oliver Hart

No 8286, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper discusses some of the attempts economists have made in the last ten years or so to integrate norms into the theory of the firm. The paper argues that (a) although norms are undoubtedly very important both inside and between firms, incorporating them into the theory has been very difficult and is likely to continue to be so in the near future; (b) so far norms have not added a great deal to our understanding of such issues as the determinants of firm boundaries (the 'make-or-buy' decision) that is, at this point a norm-free theory of the firm and a norm-rich theory of the firm don't seem to have very different predictions.

JEL-codes: D2 G3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cfn, nep-fin and nep-pke
Note: CF
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

Published as Brousseau, Eric and Jean-Michel Glachant (eds.) The economics of contracts: Theories and applications. Cambridge, New York, and Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Published as Oliver Hart, 2001. "Norms and the Theory of the Firm," University of Pennsylvania Law Review, vol 149(6).

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Working Paper: Norms and the Theory of the Firm (2001)
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