Ronald Coase
Intellectuals & Academics

Ronald Coase Net Worth

Ronald Coase was a British economist and Nobel Prize winner who is widely regarded as the 'father' of reform in the policy for allocation of the electromagnetic spectrum. He is best known for his 1937 article 'The Nature of the Firm', which introduced the concept of transaction costs, and his 1960 article 'The Problem of Social Cost', which suggested that well-defined property rights could overcome the problems of externalities. Coase held the position of Clifton R. Musser Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago Law School for most of his life. He was a highly learned and distinguished scholar, noted for his brilliant acumen and knowledge of the subject.
Ronald Coase is a member of Intellectuals & Academics

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Economist
Birth Day December 29, 1910
Birth Place Willesden, London, United Kingdom, British
Age 110 YEARS OLD
Died On 2 September 2013(2013-09-02) (aged 102)\nChicago, Illinois, United States
Birth Sign Capricorn
Institution University of Dundee University of Liverpool London School of Economics University at Buffalo University of Virginia University of Chicago
Field Law and economics
School or tradition New institutional economics
Alma mater London School of Economics
Contributions Coase theorem Analysis of transaction costs Coase conjecture
Awards Nobel Prize in Economics (1991)

💰 Net worth

Ronald Coase, a renowned economist from Britain, is estimated to have a net worth ranging from $100,000 to $1 million in 2024. Coase has made significant contributions to the field of economics throughout his career. He is particularly well-known for his groundbreaking work on transaction costs and the theory of the firm, which earned him the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1991. Despite his influential legacy, Coase's net worth is relatively modest compared to some other prominent economists. Nevertheless, his intellectual contributions continue to shape economic thinking and inspire future generations.

Famous Quotes:

It is generally agreed that this article has had an immense influence on legal scholarship, but this was no part of my intention. For me, "The Problem of Social Cost" was an essay in economics. It was aimed at economists. What I wanted to do was to improve our analysis of the working of the economic system. Law came into article because, in a regime of positive transaction costs, the character of the law becomes one of the main factors determining the performance of the economy. If transaction costs were zero (as is assumed in standard economic theory) we can imagine people contracting around the law whenever the value of production would be increased by a change in the legal position. But in a regime of positive transaction costs, such contracting would not occur whenever transaction costs were greater than the gain that such a redistribution of rights would bring. As a consequence the rights which individuals possess will commonly be those established by the law, which in these circumstances can be said to control the economy. As I have said, in "The Problem of Social Cost" I had no intention of making a contribution to legal scholarship. I referred to legal cases because they afforded examples of real situations as against the imaginary ones normally used by economists in their analysis. It was undoubtedly an economist who invented the widget. But in "The Problem of Social Cost" I did something else. I pointed out that the judges in their opinions often seemed to show a better understanding of the economic problem than did many economists even though their views were not always expressed in a very explicit fashion. I did this not to praise the judges but to shame economists.

Biography/Timeline

1910

Ronald Harry Coase was born in Willesden, a suburb of London, on 29 December 1910. His father, Henry Joseph Coase (1884–1973) was a telegraphist for the post office, as was his mother, Rosalie Elizabeth Coase (née Giles; 1882–1972), before marriage. As a child, Coase had a weakness in his legs, for which he was required to wear leg-irons. Due to this Problem, he attended the school for physical defectives. At the age of 12, he was able to enter the Kilburn Grammar School on scholarship. At Kilburn, Coase completed the first year of his BComm degree and then passed on to the University of London. Coase married Marion Ruth Hartung of Chicago, Illinois in Willesden, England, 7 August 1937.

1932

Coase attended the London School of Economics, where he received a bachelor of commerce degree in 1932. During his undergraduate studies, Coase received the Sir Ernest Cassel Travelling Scholarship, awarded by the University of London. He used this to visit the University of Chicago in 1931–1932 and studied with Frank Knight and Jacob Viner. Coase’s colleagues would later admit that they did not remember this first visit. Between 1932–34, Coase was an assistant lecturer at the Dundee School of Economics and Commerce, which later became part of the University of Dundee. Subsequently, Coase was an assistant lecturer in commerce at the University of Liverpool between 1934–1935 before returning to London School of Economics as a member of staff until 1951. He then started to work at the University at Buffalo and retained his British citizenship after moving to the United States in the 1950s. In 1958, he moved to the University of Virginia. Coase settled at the University of Chicago in 1964 and became the Editor of the Journal of Law and Economics. He was also for a time a trustee of the Philadelphia Society. He received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1991.

1937

In "The Nature of the Firm" (1937) – a brief but highly influential essay – Coase attempts to explain why the economy features a number of Business firms instead of consisting exclusively of a multitude of independent, self-employed people who contract with one another. Given that "production could be carried on without any organization [that is, firms] at all", Coase asks, why and under what conditions should we expect firms to emerge?

1959

Upon publishing his article The Federal Communications Commission in 1959, Coase received negative feedback from the faculty at the University of Chicago over his conclusions and apparent conflicts with A. C. Pigou. According to Coase, "What I said was thought to run counter to Pigou’s analysis by a number of economists at the University of Chicago and was therefore, according to them, wrong. At a meeting in Chicago I was able to convince these economists that I was right and Pigou’s analysis faulty." Coase had presented his paper in 1960 during a seminar in Chicago, to twenty senior Economist including George Stigler and Milton Friedman. He gradually won over the usually skeptic audience, in what has later been considered a “paradigm-shifting moment” in the genesis of Chicago Law and Economics. Coase would join the Chicago faculty four years later.

1960

Published in the Journal of Law and Economics in 1960, while Coase was a member of the Economics department at the University of Virginia, "The Problem of Social Cost" provided the key insight that it is unclear where the blame for externalities lies. The Example he gave was of a rancher whose cattle stray onto the cropland of his neighbour. If the rancher is made to restrict his cattle, he is harmed just as the farmer is if the cattle remain unrestrained.

2003

The University of Chicago Law School carries on the legacy of Ronald Coase through the mission of the Coase-Sandor Institute for Law and Economics. Each year, the University of Chicago Law School hosts the Coase Lecture, which was delivered in 2003 by Ronald Coase himself.

2012

Nearing his 100th birthday, Coase was working on a book concerning the rise of the economies of China and Vietnam. In an interview, Coase explained the mission of the Coase China Society and his vision of economics and the part to be played by Chinese economists. Coase was honoured and received an honorary doctorate from the University at Buffalo Department of Economics in May 2012.

2013

Coase was research advisor to the Ronald Coase Institute, an organisation that promotes research on institutions and organizations – the laws, rules, customs, and norms – that govern real economic systems, with particular support for young scholars from developing and transitional countries.

2019

Guido Calabresi wrote that Coase’s focus on transaction costs in The Nature of the Firm was the result of his socialist beliefs. Reflecting on this, Coase wrote, "It is very difficult to know where one’s ideas come from but for all I know he may well be right." Coase continued:

Some Ronald Coase images

About the author

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As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.