New book by Ronald Coase and Ning Wang
Ronald Coase and Ning Wang have just published a new book: How China Became Capitalist. It is currently available for purchase in England and will become available in the USA on April 24.



Douglass North describes the book as "a major contribution to the whole literature on economic change as well as on China", and Chenggang Xu assesses it as "one of the greatest works in economics and in studies of China." Coase and Wang discuss some of their ideas in an opinion article on April 6, 2012 in the Wall Street Journal.

Ronald Coase is professor emeritus at the University of Chicago, research advisor of the Coase Institute, and a Nobel laureate in economics. Ning Wang teaches global studies at Arizona State University and is an alumnus of the Institute's workshops.



ISNIE Best Dissertation Award Competition, 2012
The International Society of New Institutional Economcs (ISNIE) is sponsoring a competition open to all PhD students who successfully defended their dissertations after June 2010, and whose work contributes to new institutional economics. To enter, submit a 10-page abstract of your dissertation in PDF form via E-mail to Professor Douglas Allen. See detailed instructions here. The deadline to submit is May 15, 2012.



Elinor Ostrom named one of 100 most influential in world
Time Magazine has just named Elinor Ostrom one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is a Nobel laureate in economics, a distinguished professor of political science at the University of Indiana, and co-founder of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis there. She serves on the board of directors of the Ronald Coase Institute.



Conference and honorary doctorate to celebrate work
of Ronald Coase
The State University of New York at Buffalo will honor Ronald Coase May 12 at a conference that pays tribute to his innovative work. The State University of New York will also award an honorary doctorate to him on the following day.



China Research Conference                 Applications are closed.

Producing Economic Research:
High Transaction Costs and Alternative Structures
Beijing, China     May 19, 2012

Co-sponsored by The Ronald Coase Institute &
The China Center for Economic Research, Peking University

How can we increase the amount of good research on the institutions - the laws, rules, customs, and norms - that govern real economic systems? To this end, a conference on the production of economic research in China will take place in Beijing on May 19.

Focus
Focusing on the production of economic research in China,
the conference will examine
• how transaction costs relate to the structure of production
• what incentives individual scholars face
• requirements for promotion and tenure in universities
• costs and benefits of research collaboration
• current trends in the global research industry and implications for scholars studying institutions.

Who is eligible to attend?
Scholars and research teams at universities and institutes in China are invited to apply. Their research should address some institutional issue in China and include empirically testable hypotheses. Applicants are not restricted to topics on the production of economic research. The number attending will be strictly limited, to allow time for presentations and discussions of their research projects. See application details below.

Several scholars from the Ronald Coase Institute will also attend: Lixin Colin Xu, Cheryl Xiaoning Long, Sebastian Galiani, Gary Libecap, Mary Shirley, Alexandra Benham, Lee Benham, Philip Keefer, Peter Murrell, and Marc Law.

Language
English will be the language of the conference.

Structure
The program will include several 30-minute presentations on the structure of the research industry. Participants from China will also have the opportunity to present their own research projects, and to discuss the challenges they face in their research and publication. Some time will be set aside at the end of the day for individuals with common interests to have further one-on-one discussions.

Research collaboration
A major theme will be research collaboration in institutional research. Within China many scholars are eager to find collaborators and to publish in international journals. The Coase Institute network currently includes 466 workshop alumni and faculty coming from 65 countries, many of them interested in possible collaboration. The potential gains from trade are great, but at present research matchmaking is typically hit-or-miss and involves high transaction costs. The conference will explore options for creating more efficient and effective matchmaking at lower cost.

Arrangements
The conference will take place at Peking University. There is no conference fee. Lunch and dinner on Saturday, May 19 will be provided by the conference. Attendees are responsible for their own transportation and housing.

How to apply (applications are closed)
Scholars and research teams from universities and research institutes in China are invited to apply. Because of time constraints, the number of individuals attending this conference will be strictly limited. Attendees will be selected from among all applications on the basis of their research projects.

Submit your application, including a personal statement of interest, a brief CV, and a short description of a current research project and the associated data. Correspondence may be sent to conference2012bj (at) coase (dot) org.



The Ronald Coase Institute
Beijing Workshop on Institutional Analysis
May 20-26, 2012    Beijing, China
Co-sponsored with the School of Economics and Management,
     Tsinghua University
[Applications are closed]

Attend this workshop to
   Hear established institutional scholars discuss research and strategies to formulate questions, design projects, present results, and draw conclusions. 
   Present your own research and receive comments
     · in a small group with faculty guidance
     · after revising, to the entire workshop, with formal discussants.
   Network closely with faculty and other young scholars who have an enduring interest in institutional analysis. After the daily sessions, enjoy informal conversations with faculty and participants during delicious dinners. The workshop closes with a special event and gala dinner. Upon graduation become part of a worldwide scholarly network with alumni in 65 countries.

Who is eligible?
·  Postdoctoral social scientists - early in their careers
·  Advanced graduate students - in economics, political science, management, law, and other social sciences.
Participants will be selected competitively on the basis of their research abstracts. Admission is strictly limited, and the pace is intense. Participants must attend all sessions and give as well as receive feedback.

Organizers
The workshop is organized by Chong-En Bai (Tsinghua University). Alexandra Benham (Ronald Coase Institute), and Mary Shirley (Ronald Coase Institute).

Faculty
Alexandra Benham (Ronald Coase Institute), Lee Benham (Ronald Coase Institute), Sebastian Galiani (Washington University in St. Louis), Philip Keefer (World Bank), James Kai-sing Kung (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), Marc Law (University of Vermont), Hongbin Li (Tsinghua University), Gary Libecap (University of California - Santa Barbara), Cheryl Xiaoning Long (Colgate University and Xiamen University), Peter Murrell (University of Maryland), Xinzheng Shi (Tsinghua University), Mary Shirley (Ronald Coase Institute), Lixin Colin Xu (World Bank), Yang Yao (Peking University), and more.

What can you expect at this workshop?
Why participants value these workshops

RSSIA 2012
Moscow, Russia July 5-11, 2012
The Russian Summer School on Institutional Analysis 2012 will be held July 5-11, 2012 in Moscow, Russia, organized by the Center for Institutional Studies, Higher School of Economics. The focus this year is on possibilities and challenges of applied research in the institutional economics framework. Priority will be given to research projects related to the economics of the public sector, bureaucracy, and procurement; the economics of education; industrial organization, government regulation, and law enforcement. Researchers, teaching staff, and advanced graduate students are encouraged to apply. Working language: English. Deadline to apply: March 20, 2012. See details and application form here.



ESNIE 2012
Cargese, Corsica, France May 20-26, 2012
The European School on New Institutional Economics (ESNIE) will hold its 11th summer school in Cargese, Corsica on May 20-26, 2012. See details and application form. PhD students, post-docs, and researchers in the social sciences may apply. Deadline to apply: March 12, 2012.



ISNIE 2012
Los Angeles, California, USA, June 14-16, 2012
The 16th annual conference of the International Society for New Institutional Economics (ISNIE) will be held at the University of Southern California, June 14-16, 2012. See details. Keynote speakers will be William Landes, Richard Posner, and Gillian Hadfield. The deadline to submit paper proposals was January 30, 2012.



130th EAAE Seminar and PhD Course
Uppsala, Sweden, August 26-September 1, 2012
The European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE) will hold its 130th seminar in Uppsala, Sweden, August 31-September 1, 2012, on the theme "Did agricultural economics disappoint? Empirical applications on governance of food and fibre value chains." February 17 is the deadline to submit abstracts (max 3 pages). Linked to this seminar is a preceding PhD course August 26-29, "The Empirics of Economics and Transaction Costs" led by Scott Masten, at the Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences. See seminar and PhD course details. Kostas Karantininis will chair these events.



Conference: Contracts, Procurement, and Public-Private Arrangements
Paris, France, May 30-31, 2012
The conference focuses on recent developments in contract theory. See details. The deadline to submit an abstract has passed.



Conference: Institutions and Values in Economic Thought
St. Petersburg, Russia, May 17-19, 2012
The 16th annual conference of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) will be held at St. Petersburg State University, Russia, May 17-19 2012. See details. A selection of papers from the conference will be published in the European Journal of the History of Economic Thought. The deadline to submit proposals for papers or sessions has passed.



Law and Economics Summer School for Chinese Scholars
Chicago, July 9-20, 2012
The University of Chicago invites scholars from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to apply for a two-week summer school on law and economics in Chicago, July 9-20, 2012. Professors, assistant professors, lecturers, postdoctoral fellows, and advanced graduate students in law are encouraged to apply. Policy makers, scholars, and researchers from other disciplines - including economics, finance, and political science - who are interested in law and legal institutions are also encouraged to apply. All lectures, discussions, and readings will be in English without translation, so applicants should have a sufficient command of the English language. The theme is Property Rights and Private Law. See details and application form. The deadline to apply has passed.

  ALSO SEE
  Our Recent Conferences & Workshops
  Alumni News
  Job Openings & Research Requests
  Past Programs, Abstracts, Images

  What can you expect during a workshop?
  Why participants value the workshops
  Meet some alumni

   Workshop comments:
     "superlative experience" (Boulder)
     "famous scholars and delicious
        food" (Shanghai)
     "most exciting workshop I have
        attended" (Singapore)
     "demanding, intensive and mentally
        exhausting...also one of the most
        rewarding" (Philippines)
     "best learning experience within last
        31 years" (Bratislava)

  
  Starting April 24 the new book by Ronald
       Coase and Ning Wang will be available
       at Amazon.com.

  By May 15 submit your dissertation abstract
       to the ISNIE Best Dissertation Award
       Competition.