Ronald H. Coase received his doctorate at the University of London and was a professor at the University of Buffalo from 1951 to 1958, then at the University of Virginia from 1958 to 1964, and then at the University of Chicago from 1964 to 1979. He wo n the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1991. He is best known for his fundamental insight on why firms exist, which, according to Coase, is due to the existence of transactions costs. This insight was labeled "Coase Theorem" by economist George Stigler. Coase also applied the concept of transaction costs to public goods.

Coase challenged the long held view of the necessity of government intervention by looking at Pigou's example of the cattle rancher's cows destroying neighboring crops under the assumption of zero transactions costs. In reality, transactions costs are never zero, and thus, courts would still be needed.

Works by Ronald H. Coase:

• The Nature of the Firm, Economica
  
• The Problems of Social Cost , Journal of Law and Economics
  
• The Lighthouse in Economics, Journal of Law and Economics
  
• The Federal Communications Commission, Jounal of Law and Economics