From Economic Man to Economic System

Harold Demsetz is Arthur Anderson UCLA Alumni Emeritus Professor of Business Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he has taught since 1971 and where he directed UCLA's business economics program. Counted among the world's 100 most eminent economists in Mark Blaug's book Great Economists since Keynes, his published work was recently ranked as among the top ten most frequently cited bodies of work by an economist. Who's Who in America and Who's Who in Economics, among other directories, include his biography.

• 1. Where economic man dwells; 2. Economic man's escape from Mathus's population trap; 3. Protecting you from yourself; 4. Rescuing economic man from the selfish gene; 5. Crossing disciplinary boundaries; 6. The late arrival of capitalism; 7. Ownership and exchange; 8. Reinterpreting the externality problem; 9. Firms and households as substitutes; 10. The contrast between firms and political parties; 11. The public corporation: its ownership and control; 12. Public policy's indirect effects on the control, organization, and importance of firms.

Review of the hardback: 'This lovely set of essays provides a small intellectual feast. The readings are a delight for the thoughtful economist and should be an excellent supplement for any number of undergraduate or graduate economic courses or law school offerings. Demsetz's economics is the lively engagement with fundamental questions such as the root of property rights, the delayed emergence of capitalism, and declining family size. He demonstrates the power of simple straightforward economic instincts and principles when wielded by a sharp mind aided by a fluid pen to enlighten important social questions.' Lloyd Cohen, George Mason University