Our hero today is Ronald Coase. His biography will be discussed in detail below. This is an English economist who was born in a suburb of London - Wilsden.
Parents
The father of our hero was a telegraph operator. Mother is a postal employee. She left work after marriage. The parents of the future economist did not receive education, but they were literate people. The subject of their hobby was sports.
early years
Ronald Coase is the only child in the family. He had an interest in sports, which can be considered ordinary for any young man. At the same time, enthusiasm for learning prevailed. He went to high school at age 12. This stage of training was decided to start a year earlier. Such a change affected the biography of our hero. In 1927, Ronald Coase passed the exams in chemistry as well as history with excellent marks. This allowed to continue their studies at the university.
However, the young man preferred to stay at school for another 2 years. He intended to master, as an extramural student, the basic program taught in the first year at the University of London. Then he wanted to pass the intermediate exams. Only after that, our hero was going to go to university. To obtain a diploma of a historian, an excellent knowledge of Latin was required. Our hero could not master this language, since he entered the school a year later. Therefore, he decided to study under the natural sciences program and to associate his activities with chemistry.
He soon became convinced that his chosen road was not his vocation. Thus, the only specialty on the basis of which it was possible to transfer from school to university was commerce. Our hero passed the exams for this course. In 1929, he became a student at the London School of Economics. A decisive influence during this period was exerted on him by Professor A. Plant. As a result, our hero developed a special methodological principle. The economist strove to follow it all his future life.
Views
Ronald Coase examined the real world of economic phenomena and went beyond the scientific “blackboard”. The formation of the interests of our hero was greatly influenced by the work “Risk, Uncertainty and Profit” by F. Knight. As a result, Ronald Coase became interested in the problem of economic institutions and organizations. He was also influenced by the book of F. Wickstead. It is called "The Elementary Meaning of Political Economy." Our hero was very interested in industrial legislation. He decided to specialize in this field upon receipt of a bachelor's degree. Perhaps he would become a professional lawyer. However, the choice of activity was influenced by chance.
Suddenly, he won an Ernest Kassel scholarship. Thus, he had the opportunity to get education at foreign universities. The academic year (1931-1932) our hero spent in the United States. He studied in detail the structure of industry over this period. It was here that his interests were determined, as well as the direction of the future career of a future economist.
Activities
Ronald Coase began his career with an article entitled "The Nature of the Firm." He collected material for her throughout the year. This work was published on the pages of the journal Economics in 1937. Even after 50 years, this work did not cease to attract attention. The level of her citation is constantly growing.
In The Nature of the Firm, our hero touched on the fundamental problem of economic organization. He was the first to ask the organizing role of the company. According to him, she is able to intervene in the work of market forces, as well as upset transactions. An economist defines a firm as an organizational structure. It replaces the market. For her, a network of contractual relationships is characteristic.
Economic agents are constantly faced with a choice. They have to decide whether to organize activities through market transactions or to resort to agreeing on the structure of the company. The article described the nature of this choice. Thus, the author explained the appearance of the company as a substitute for market operations. The purpose of this structure is to reduce social costs that are associated with the operation of the market mechanism. Analyzing the issue of firm size, the economist formulated a number of rules that determine the size of such an enterprise. Its concept is based on cost comparison. They are associated with the implementation of transactions within the company and in the markets.
