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Coase Theorem: Empirical Tests

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Abstract

This entry examines three classic tests of the Coase theorem: two empirical studies on the most famous examples of externalities – Coase’s ranchers and farmers (Ellickson, Stanford Law Rev. 38(3):623–687, 1986) and Meade’s bees (Cheung, J Law Econ 16(1):11–33, 1973) – as well as the seminal laboratory experiments of Hoffman and Spitzer (J Law Econ 25(1):73–98, 1982). I will insist on the difficulty of testing the theorem without measuring transaction costs, and on another obstacle to negotiation over and above these costs: a moral or social prohibition on exchange.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS and University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (ISJPS, UMR 8103), Paris, France

    Elodie Bertrand

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  1. Elodie Bertrand
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Correspondence to Elodie Bertrand .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. MRE and University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Alain Marciano

  2. Faculté d’Economie, Université de Montpellier and LAMETA-UMR CNRS, Montpellier, France

    Alain Marciano

  3. DiGSPES, University of Eastern Piedmont, Alessandria, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Ramello

  4. IEL, Torino, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Ramello

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Bertrand, E. (2019). Coase Theorem: Empirical Tests. In: Marciano, A., Ramello, G.B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Law and Economics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7753-2_628

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