Transaction cost economics has and continues to be a fruitful area of research. There is still much to be done in the field with past research being used in conjunction with the vast number of contractual phenomena that have yet to be investigated in transaction cost economics terms. New challenges are posed by the need to move beyond the design of new contractual instruments (such as financial derivatives) to include an examination of the lurking hazards that attend contract implementation. Edited by a leading authority in the field, this important collection brings together Professor Williamson's key papers on transaction cost economics. It will be of benefit to academics, scholars and practitioners with an interest in this progressive subject.
Acknowledgements Introduction Oliver Williamson PART I THEORY AND CONCEPTS 1. O.E. Williamson (2001), 'Hierarchies and Markets' 2. Oliver E. Williamson (1971), 'The Vertical Integration of Production: Market Failure Considerations' 3. Oliver E. Williamson (1979), 'Transaction-Cost Economics: The Governance of Contractual Relations' 4. Oliver E. Williamson (1983), 'Credible Commitments: Using Hostages to Support Exchange' 5. Oliver E. Williamson (1991), 'Comparative Economic Organization: The Analysis of Discrete Structural Alternatives' 6. Oliver E. Williamson (1985), 'The Limits of Firms: Incentive and Bureaucratic Features' 7. Oliver E. Williamson (1991), 'Strategizing, Economizing, and Economic Organization' PART II PUBLIC POLICY 8. Oliver E. Williamson (1976), 'Franchise Bidding for Natural Monopolies - in General and with Respect to CATV' 9. Oliver E. Williamson (2009), 'Opening the Black Box of Firm and Market Organization: Antitrust' 10. Oliver E. Williamson (1988), 'Corporate Finance and Corporate Governance' 11. Oliver E. Williamson (2008), 'Corporate Boards of Directors: In Principle and in Practice' PART III INTERDISCIPINARY SOCIAL SCIENCE 12. Oliver E. Williamson (1993), 'Transaction Cost Economics and Organization Theory' 13. Oliver E. Williamson (1993), 'Calculativeness, Trust, and Economic Organization' 14. Oliver E. Williamson (2005), 'Why Law, Economics, and Organization?' PART IV PERSPECTIVES 15. Oliver E. Williamson (2009), 'Pragmatic Methodology: A Sketch, with Applications to Transaction Cost Economics' 16. Oliver E. Williamson (2010), 'Transaction Cost Economics: The Natural Progression'