30 | May | 2008 | Organizations and Markets

Westgren at Missouri

| Peter Klein |

Those of you within driving distance of Columbia, Missouri should come over Monday (2 June) for a seminar by Randy Westgren, “The Entrepreneurial Niche,” at 2:00 2:30pm in 217 Mumford Hall. Abstract below the fold. The talk is sponsored by the McQuinn Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Email me for details. (more…)

30 May 2008 at 2:29 pm Peter G. Klein 2 comments

Mike and Me on Externalities

| Peter Klein |

Mike Moffatt responds to my post on externalities. I questioned the Pigouvian approach of using taxes as efficient remedies for negative externalities. I said if, say, carbon taxes are a good idea, then Pigouvian taxes on a range of activities that generate negative externalities should be even better. And what about Pigouvian subsidies? I rarely see members of the Pigou club explain what activities they would subsidize, at what rates, and with what resources.

Mike’s response, based on more detailed comments here, is interesting, but to my mind misses the main point. Pigouvian taxes aren’t perfect, Mike says, but neither are income taxes or excise taxes or any other taxes. Fine, I say, but the relevant comparison isn’t between Pigouvian taxes and other taxes, but between Pigouvian taxes and alternative institutions for dealing with externalities such as cap-and-trade, common-law tort remedies, etc. (more…)

30 May 2008 at 9:15 am Peter G. Klein 7 comments

Langlois and Lien Join the O&M Team — and Foss Is Back

| Nicolai Foss |

Since its inception in April 2006 Peter and I have been running this operation as a two-man show (with the help of some terrific guest bloggers). Peter has been the main man for the past several months, because of the time-consuming bureaucratic nightmares that I have been immersed in. The rumours that have been spreading about my virtual death are, however, exaggerated, and I will make a comeback attempt here at O&M.

Furthermore, while Peter and I enjoy writing about our own idiosyncratic interests, we think the time is right to broaden O&M’s scope by adding some permanent bloggers to the team. So, we’re pleased to announce that our longtime friends, collaborators, and former guest bloggers Dick Langlois and Lasse Lien have agreed to come on board.

Langlois is professor of economics at the University of Connecticut and adjunct professor of strategy and business history at the Copenhagen Business School. He writes on the theory of the firm, organizational boundaries, technology, the economics of institutions, the history of economic thought, and economic methodology.

Lien is associate professor of strategy and management at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH). He works in corporate strategy with an emphasis on diversification, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic positioning.

Welcome, guys!