Steven G. Medema, George Family Research Professor and Associate Director of The Center for the History of Political Economy

Steven Medema’s research focuses on the history of modern economics, though his writings range over subjects as diverse as the Ancient Greeks, Adam Smith, and British philosopher Henry Sidgwick. The thread that unites much of his research is the analysis of the interplay between markets and government in the history of economic ideas. His current project, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for New Economic Thinking, examines the history of the Coase theorem and its influence in economics, law, and beyond. Professor Medema serves as an associate editor or editorial board member of several history of economics journals and was editor of the Journal of the History of Economic Thought from 1999 – 2008. He also serves as the Associate Director of the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	07D Social Sciences Bldg., Box 90097, Durham, NC 27708
Office Phone:	(919) 660-1802
Email Address:
Web Page:	https://sites.duke.edu/sgmedema/

Teaching (Spring 2023):

• ECON 310.01, ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF LAW Synopsis

  Social Sciences 113, MW 10:15 AM-11:30 AM

• ECON 311.01, HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT Synopsis

  Social Sciences 113, MW 03:30 PM-04:45 PM

  (also cross-listed as HISTORY 307.01)

• ECON 511.01, HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT Synopsis

  Social Sciences 113, MW 03:30 PM-04:45 PM

• ECON 690.03, SELECTED TOPICS IN ECONOMICS Synopsis

  Social Sciences 111, TuTh 01:45 PM-03:00 PM

• ECON 884.02, TOPICS IN HISTORY OF ECONOMICS Synopsis

  Social Sciences 111, TuTh 01:45 PM-03:00 PM

Education:

Ph.D.	Michigan State University	1989
A.B.	Calvin College	1985

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. Medema, SG, The coase theorem at sixty, Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 58 no. 4 (December, 2020), pp. 1045-1128 [doi]  [abs]
2. Medema, SG, Embracing at arm's length: Ronald Coase's uneasy relationship with the Chicago school, Oxford Economic Papers, vol. 72 no. 4 (October, 2020), pp. 1072-1090 [doi]  [abs]
3. Medema, SG, “Exceptional and Unimportant”? Externalities, Competitive Equilibrium, and the Myth of a Pigovian Tradition, History of Political Economy, vol. 52 no. 1 (February, 2020), pp. 135-170 [doi]  [abs]
4. Medema, SG, The economist and the economist's audience, Journal of the History of Economic Thought, vol. 41 no. 3 (September, 2019), pp. 335-341 [doi]
5. Maas, H; Medema, SG; Guidi, M, Introduction to economics as a public science. Part II: Institutional settings, Oeconomia, vol. 9 no. 3 (September, 2019), pp. 427-432 [doi]  [abs]