1980/01/01 by Robert B. Ekelund, Robert D. Tollison · 42 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Business, Management and Accounting · #Economic Theory and Institutions #Corporate Finance and Governance #Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems #Mercantilism #Corporation #Economics #Neoclassical economics #Finance #Market economy
paper · doi:10.2307/3003390
published in The Bell Journal of Economics 11(2), 715
openalex publication_date 1980/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
In this paper we present a new hypothesis about why the corporation was invented. The traditional argument stresses the importance of limited liability in the emergence of the corporate form. In contrast we stress the advantages that transferable shares hold for cartel owner-management in the early companies.