Book Review: the Theory of Transaction in Institutional Economics: a History, by Massimiliano Vatiero

History of Economic Ideas, 29, September 2021, pp. 189-192.

4 Pages Posted: 11 Dec 2023

See all articles by Scott E. Masten

Scott E. Masten

University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business

Date Written: May 31, 2021

Abstract

The central contention of The Theory of Transaction in Institutional Economics is that the failure to settle on the meaning of transaction costs reflects a misplaced attention on costs, specifically, that “the root of the vagueness surrounding the notion of transaction costs can be attributed not to the meaning of cost (economists have a consolidated literature on that), but to the lack of a clear-cut definition of ‘transaction.’” With this book, Professor Vatiero aims to address this neglect by, first, reviewing uses of the concept of transaction in institutionalist scholarship and, then, developing a system for characterizing transactions.

Keywords: transaction costs, history of economic thought

JEL Classification: B00, D23

Suggested Citation

Masten, Scott E., Book Review: the Theory of Transaction in Institutional Economics: a History, by Massimiliano Vatiero (May 31, 2021). History of Economic Ideas, 29, September 2021, pp. 189-192., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4598262

Scott E. Masten (Contact Author)

University of Michigan, Stephen M. Ross School of Business ( email )

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