The transaction cost economics project

'As recognized by the Economics Sciences Prize Committee in awarding the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, Oliver Williamson altered irreversibly the way we approach and analyze organization. But such is the depth of Williamson insights that often his contributions can only be fully appreciated in the context of real world organizational phenomena. It is thus not uncommon that, after struggling with some particularly thorny problem of economic organization, I will discover on rereading a familiar piece that Williamson had anticipated and already addressed the subject of my efforts. This collection contains the articles and chapters to which I most frequently return and provides the essential readings for anyone seriously interested in the science of organization.' - Scott Masten, University of Michigan, US 'The presence of transaction costs greatly modifies the traditional picture of the allocation of resources through the market.^ It gives rise to many phenomena inexplicable in the simple market view and to problems of government policy. Oliver Williamson has been a leading figure in this analysis. His interpretations of corporate governance and of the complementarity betwee