Transaction Cost Economics investigates the nature of contractual arrangements involved in large organizations, the 'configurations' of corporations, the modes of governance implemented, and the respective role of different constituencies. The second series of problems addressed in the book concerns the interaction between the institutional environment and governance structures over time, with special emphasis on the Russian privatization programme and the narcotics market.

These twin analyses substantiate the distinction between private and public ordering. The book is strongly oriented towards increasing the operationalization of the concepts of transaction cost economics.

The book will be essential reading for everyone interested in the new institutional economics and in recent developments in the theory of contracts, in transaction cost economics and in organization theory. Because of its emphasis on potential applications, it will also be of interest to readers from management science and those involved in the analysis of economies in transition.