Skip Navigation


Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access originally published online on October 31, 2005
Cambridge Journal of Economics 2006 30(3):389-402; doi:10.1093/cje/bei068
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
30/3/389    most recent
bei068v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bertrand, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Related Collections
Right arrow B25 - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Austrian
Right arrow B41 - Economic Methodology
Right arrow D23 - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; [...]
Right arrow D62 - Externalities
Right arrow H41 - Public Goods
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

Article

The Coasean analysis of lighthouse financing: myths and realities

Elodie Bertrand*

* LEMMA, University of Littoral Cote d'Opale

Address for correspondence: LEMMA, University of Littoral Cote d'Opale, 17 rue du Puits d'Amour, 62327 Boulogne sur mer cedex, France; email: Elodie.Bertrand{at}univ-littoral.fr

Abstract

In ‘The Lighthouse in Economics’ (Coase, R. H. Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 17, no. 2, 357–76, 1974), Coase reached the conclusion that in England there existed a relatively efficient privately financed lighthouse system, which would refute economists' traditional statements concerning the production of public goods. The purpose of this paper is to challenge his conclusion. We first show that, from a methodological and theoretical perspective, ‘The Lighthouse’ is consistent with ‘The Problem of Social Cost’ (Coase, R. H. Journal of Law and Economics, vol. 3, 1–44, 1960). Then, applying Coase's own method (historical case studies), we attempt to re-examine the respective roles and efficiencies of private initiative and government.

Key Words: Coase • Lighthouses • Public utilities • Externalities

JEL classifications: B25, B41, D62, H41.

Manuscript received May 19, 2003; final version received July 1, 2005.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Public Finance ReviewHome page
W. Barnett and W. Block
Coase and Van Zandt on Lighthouses
Public Finance Review, November 1, 2007; 35(6): 710 - 733.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.