Antitrust Economics (Mergers, Cartels, and Strategic Behavior) -- A Series of Translated Classics of New Institutional Economics

Author: Oliver E. Williamson (Author); translated by Zhang Qunqun, Huang Tao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-03-01
Features: China is currently in the period of economic system transition. During the process of shifting from a planned economy to a market economy, we have encountered numerous contradictions and problems. How to design a sound institutional framework, how to properly handle the triangular relationship between the state, market, and enterprises, and how to address information incentives are the most urgent fundamental issues China must resolve. The essence of these issues lies in how to save institutional costs. Once this is resolved, China will embark on a path of institutional innovation characterized by low transaction costs, sound market mechanisms, sensitive information, and rapid market expansion. To reform the world, one must first understand the world. The first step in understanding the world is to learn. With the vastness of modern knowledge, learning requires selection. New Institutional Economics is a field that has only developed in the past 30 years and differs from neoclassical economics. It can be said that New Institutional Economics is a revolution against the Arrow-Debreu paradigm, which forms the foundation of neoclassical economics. The analytical methods of neoclassical economics treat firms, markets, and governments as "black boxes," assuming that these institutional arrangements are costless.