TY  - JOUR
AU  - Hart,Oliver
TI  - Norms and the Theory of the Firm
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8286
PY  - 2001
Y2  - May 2001
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8286
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8286.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Oliver D. Hart
Department of Economics
Littauer Center 220
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617/496-3461
Fax: 617-495-7730
E-Mail: ohart@harvard.edu
AB  - This paper discusses some of the attempts economists have made in the last ten years or so to integrate norms into the theory of the firm.  The paper argues that (a) although norms are undoubtedly very important both inside and between firms, incorporating them into the theory has been very difficult and is likely to continue to be so in the near future; (b) so far norms have not added a great deal to our understanding of such issues as the determinants of firm boundaries (the 'make-or-buy' decision) that is, at this point a norm-free theory of the firm and a norm-rich theory of the firm don't seem to have very different predictions.
ER  -