In 1991 Ronald Coase was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics. Over the course of an academic career spanning more than six decades, Coase has brought his own particular approach to economics, and in the process has profoundly challenged the way that economists view the firm; the relations between the law, economics and the economic system; and the possibilities and limitations of markets. In this book the author presents a systematic study of Coase's contributions to economics, focusing on his most important contributions and the central themes of his analysis, including the nature of the firm, pricing and costs, externalities, the economic role of government, and the inadequacies of mainstream economic method. The book also provides a preliminary assessment of Coase's legacy within economics, including a discussion of the links between Coase's work and the development of the New Institutional Economics and of law and economics that have grown up so much as a result of Coase's analysis.