Review of Massimiliano Vatiero’s The Theory of Transaction in Institutional Economics: A History. New York, NY: Routledge, 2021, 104 pp.

Abstract

This is an odd book. At just eighty pages, it is shorter than most modern applied-micro papers; the hardback cover is thicker than the text! How-ever, with around 250 references, ranging across the past century and several schools of thought, the number of ideas per page is quite stagger-ing. The terse, dense writing, combined with translation issues related to articles/number/plurals between Italian and English, make this a very dif-ficult read. Perhaps this is why, after reading it, I am not fully confident that I understand it. It also partially explains my harsh review.