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Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Preface and acknowledgements -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Normative versus positive analysis in the history of the theory of production -- 3 The division of labour and the theory of the firm -- 4 Proto-neoclassicals and the theory of production -- Appendix: a very brief history of perfect competition -- 5 The representative firm -- 6 The neoclassical model under fire 1940-1970 -- 7 Conclusion -- Index.

The theory of the firm did not exist, in any serious manner, until around 1970. Only then did the current theory of the firm literature begin to emerge, based largely upon the work of Ronald Coase and to a lesser degree Frank Knight. It was work by Armen Alchian, Robert Crawford, Harold Demsetz, Michael Jensen, Benjamin Klein, William Meckling and Oliver Williamson, among others, that drove the upswing in interest in the firm among mainstream economists. This accessible book provides a valuable overview of the 'prehistory' of the firm. Spanning an impressive timeline, it delves into Antiquity, the Medieval era, the pre-classical economics period and the 19th and 20th centuries. Next, the book traces the theoretical contributions from pre-classical, classical and neoclassical economics. It will be illuminating reading for students and researchers of the history of economic thought, industrial organization, microeconomic theory and business history.

Preface -- Contents -- 1 Introduction: The Current Dilemma and the Need for Moral Philosophy -- 1.1 Why Does Medicine Need Moral Philosophy? -- 1.2 Ethical Conflicts -- 1.3 Ethics or Morals? -- 1.4 The Rationale for This Book -- 1.5 Chapter Outline -- References -- 2 Traditional Approaches to Ethical Decision Making -- 2.1 What Can History Tell Us? -- 2.2 The Ethics of Trolley Cars Speeding Out of Control -- 2.3 Deontology -- 2.3.1 Personhood -- 2.3.2 Death in Intensive Care -- 2.4 Teleology -- 2.5 Virtue Ethics -- 2.6 Islamic-Judaeo-Christian Influences -- 2.7 Summary -- References -- 3 Balancing Old and New Approaches: Principlism Versus Proportionism -- 3.1 Principlism -- 3.1.1 Autonomy -- 3.1.2 Non-maleficence, Beneficence, Justice -- 3.1.3 The Four Principles in Practice -- 3.2 The Proportionist Approach -- 3.3 Summary -- References -- 4 The Foundations and Benefits of Dialogic Consensus -- 4.1 So What Is Different About Our Contemporary Era? -- 4.2 The Discourse Theory of Morality and Communicative Action -- 4.3 Dialogue, Consensus, and Dialogic Consensus -- 4.3.1 Dialogue -- 4.3.2 Consensus -- 4.3.3 Dialogic Consensus -- 4.4 An Example of a Case Conference Using Dialogic Consensus -- 4.5 Summary -- References -- 5 Challenges Facing Dialogic Consensus -- 5.1 Challenges -- 5.2 How We Know What We Know -- 5.3 Power in the Dialogue -- 5.4 Strategic Action Versus Communicative Action -- 5.5 Moral Distress in the Dialogue -- 5.6 Participants in the Dialogue -- 5.7 Time and the Facilitator -- 5.8 Dissensus -- 5.9 Summary -- References -- 6 Conclusion: Looking to the Future of Moral Decision Making in Clinical Settings -- 6.1 Looking to the Future -- References

Firms are a ubiquitous feature of the economic landscape, with much of the activity undertaken within an economy taking place within their boundaries. Given the size of the contribution made by firms to economic activity, employment and growth, having a theoretical understanding of the nature and structure of firms is crucial for understanding how an economy functions. The Theory of the Firm firstly offers a brief overview of the past, consisting of a concise discussion of the classical view of production, followed by an outline of the development of the neoclassical - or 'textbook' - approach to firm level production. Secondly, the 'present' of the theory of the firm is discussed in three sections. The first section considers the post-1970 theory of the firm literature per se, while the second section scrutinises the relationship between the three most prominent of the modern sets of theories: the reference point, property rights and transaction cost approaches. The third section looks at the theory of privatisation. The unique aspects of this book includes its discussions of the post-1970 contributions to the theory of the firm; the integration of the theory of the entrepreneur with the theory of the firm; and the theory of privatisation. This volume offers an intuitive introduction to the theories of the firm as well as simple formal models of the most important contributions to the literature. It also outlines the historical evolution of the traditional and modern theories of the firm. This book is of great interest to those who study history of economic thought, industrial economics and organizational studies.--