In even the most market-oriented economies, most economic transactions occur not in markets but inside managed organizations, particularly business firms. Organizational economics seeks to understand the nature and workings of such organizations and their impact on economic performance. This landmark book assembles the leading figures in organizational economics to present the first comprehensive view of both the current state of research in this fast-emerging field and where it might be headed.
The Handbook of Organizational Economics surveys the major theories, evidence, and methods used in the field. It displays the breadth of topics in organizational economics, including the roles of individuals and groups in organizations, organizational structures and processes, the boundaries of the firm, contracts between and within firms, and more.
The defining book on the subject, The Handbook of Organizational Economics is essential reading for researchers and students looking to understand this emerging field in economics.
- Presents the first comprehensive treatment of organizational economics
- Features contributions by leaders in the field
- Unifies and extends existing literatures
- Describes theoretical and empirical methods used today
Robert Gibbons is the Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of Game Theory for Applied Economists (Princeton). John Roberts is the John H. Scully Professor of Economics, Strategic Management, and International Business at Stanford University. He is the author of The Modern Firm: Organizational Design for Performance and Growth.
"The defining book on the subject, The Handbook of Organizational Economics is essential reading for researchers and students looking to understand this emerging field in economics."—World Book Industry
"This definitive, thoroughly researched book shows the relevance of economic logic in analyzing firms. At the same time, it makes the case for enriching traditional market analyses to include a more detailed treatment of firms and other forms of nonmarket organizations. It is a handbook that summarizes and significantly advances research at the frontiers of organizational economics, and will serve as an indispensable guide for future work in this area."—Bengt Holmstrom, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"No longer can economics be accused of treating the organization as a black box. Gibbons and Roberts, intellectual leaders in the area of organizational economics, have assembled a comprehensive survey of how economic tools can shine a light on the messy world of organizations. The volume demonstrates that organizational economics has arrived as a mature, vigorous field that others must engage with. Every serious student of organizations and management will find inspiration and insight in this handbook."—Jesper Sørensen, Stanford University
"Gibbons and Roberts have gathered a superb lineup of contributors for this self-contained book. The Handbook of Organizational Economics is essential reading for all those interested in this field at the confluence of economics and management. It achieves an excellent balance between theory, empirical approaches, and more informal renderings of organization practices. We can safely bet that this wonderful handbook will encourage new research and doctoral courses."—Jean Tirole, Toulouse School of Economics
"As Herbert Simon has noted, ours is an organizational economy at least as much as it is a market economy, and this handbook is an invaluable guide to the great strides that organizational economics is making in understanding it. The contributions are uniformly thoughtful and interesting, they cover an impressive range of topics, and are uniquely attentive to developments in related social sciences. I cannot recommend it more highly."—Ezra W. Zuckerman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Over the past few decades, the economics of organizations has developed a body of work that has deep theoretical and empirical implications for just about every field of economics. This comprehensive overview provides lucid, readable, and often very entertaining summaries of what this relatively new field has to offer economists looking for a better understanding of, as the book puts it, 'the existence, nature, design, and performance of organizations.'"—Ray Fisman, coauthor of The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office
"This unique handbook provides a very comprehensive overview of organizational economics, with a list of contributors that reads like a who's who of top scholars in the economics profession. I can think of no other volume that even comes close. I predict that this book will be highly influential."—Wouter Dessein, Columbia University
