Scholars@Duke

• Background
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  Education, Training, & Certifications

  • Ph.D., Michigan State University 1989
  • A.B., Calvin College 1985
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  Previous Appointments & Affiliations

  • Research Associate in the School of Law, Law School, Duke University 2019 - 2020
• Research
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  Selected Grants

  • Challenging Law's Foundations: The Coase Theorem Controversy in Legal Analysis awarded by Institute for Humane Studies 2020 - 2021
• Publications & Artistic Works
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  Selected Publications

  • Books

    • Irwin, D. A., and S. G. Medema. Jacob Viner: Lectures in economics 301, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203788110.
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    • Medema, S. G. The "subtle processes of economic reasoning": Marshall, becker, and Theorizing about economic Man and other-regarding behavior. Vol. 33, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0743-415420150000033010.
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    • Medema, S. G. Paul Samuelson on the history of economic analysis: Selected essays, 2014.
    • Medema, S. G., and W. J. Samuels. The history of economic thought: A reader, second edition, 2013. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203568477.
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    • Medema, S. G. The hesitant hand: Taming self-interest in the history of economic ideas, 2009.
    • Medema, S. G. The hesitant hand: Taming self-interest in the history of economic ideas, 2009.
    • Medema, S. G. Alfred Marshall Meets Law and Economics: Rationality, Norms, and Theories as Tendency Statements. Vol. 9, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1529-2134(06)09009-0.
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    • Medema, S. G. J. DANIEL HAMMOND, NORMA JEANE MORTENSON, AND AMERICAN INSTITUTIONALISM: A VIEW FROM THE TOP ROW. Vol. 22, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0743-4154(03)22012-5.
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  • Academic Articles

    • Medema, S. G. “The coase theorem at sixty.” Journal of Economic Literature 58, no. 4 (December 1, 2020): 1045–1128. https://doi.org/10.1257/JEL.20191060.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Embracing at arm's length: Ronald Coase's uneasy relationship with the Chicago school.” Oxford Economic Papers 72, no. 4 (October 1, 2020): 1072–90. https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpaa011.
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    • Maas, H., S. G. Medema, and M. Guidi. “Introduction to economics as a public science. Part II: Institutional settings.” Oeconomia 9, no. 3 (September 1, 2019): 427–32. https://doi.org/10.4000/oeconomia.7424.
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    • Medema, S. G. “The economist and the economist's audience.” Journal of the History of Economic Thought 41, no. 3 (September 1, 2019): 335–41. https://doi.org/10.1017/S105383721900018X.
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    • Maas, H., S. G. Medema, and M. Guidi. “Introduction to economics as a public science.” Oeconomia 9, no. 2 (June 1, 2019): 201–7. https://doi.org/10.4000/oeconomia.5784.
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    • Medema, S. G. “'A magnificent business prospect' the Coase theorem, the extortion problem, and the creation of Coase theorem worlds.” Journal of Institutional Economics 11, no. 2 (June 6, 2015): 353–78. https://doi.org/10.1017/S174413741400023X.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Economic rebel in retrospect.” Journal of Economic Methodology, January 9, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2014.973751.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Crossing the atlantic with calabresi and coase: Efficiency, distribution, and justice at the origins of economic analysis of law in Britain.” History of Economic Ideas 23, no. 3 (January 1, 2015): 61–87.
    • DeAngelo, G., and S. G. Medema. “Those crazy transaction costs: On the irrelevance of the equivalence between monetary damages and specific performance.” European Journal of Law and Economics 37, no. 2 (April 1, 2014): 269–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-011-9285-0.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Juris prudence: Calabresi's uneasy relationship with the coase theorem.” Law and Contemporary Problems 77, no. 2 (January 1, 2014): 65–95.
    • Medema, S. G. “1966 and all that: Codification, consolidation, creep, and controversy in the early history of the coase theorem.” Journal of the History of Economic Thought 36, no. 3 (January 1, 2014): 271–303. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1053837214000340.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Neither misunderstood nor ignored: The early reception of coase's wider challenge to the analysis of externalities.” History of Economic Ideas 22, no. 1 (January 1, 2014): 111–32.
    • Medema, S. G. “Economics and institutions lessons from the coase theorem.” Revue Economique 65, no. 2 (January 1, 2014): 243–61. https://doi.org/10.3917/reco.652.0243.
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    • Medema, S. G. “The curious treatment of the coase theorem in the environmental economics literature, 1960-1979.” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 8, no. 1 (January 1, 2014): 39–57. https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/ret020.
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    • Medema, S. G. “The importance of being misunderstood: The Coase theorem and the legacy of 'The Problem of Social Cost'.” Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research 5, no. 4 (October 1, 2013): 249–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/19390459.2013.835122.
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    • Medema, S. G. “On why there is no Milton Friedman today: Sui Generis, Sui Temporis.” Econ Journal Watch 10, no. 2 (May 30, 2013): 197–204.
    • Medema, S. G. “Warren Samuels: A personal reminiscence.” History of Political Economy 44, no. 3 (September 26, 2012): 389–411. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-1717230.
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    • Backhouse, R. E., and S. G. Medema. “Economists and the analysis of government failure: Fallacies in the Chicago and Virginia interpretations of Cambridge welfare economics.” Cambridge Journal of Economics 36, no. 4 (July 1, 2012): 981–94. https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/ber047.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Public choice and the notion of creative communities.” History of Political Economy 43, no. 1 (March 10, 2011): 225–46. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-2010-049.
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    • Medema, S. G. “A case of mistaken identity: George Stigler, "The Problem of Social Cost," and the Coase theorem.” European Journal of Law and Economics 31, no. 1 (February 1, 2011): 11–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-010-9196-5.
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    • Backhouse, R. E., and S. G. Medema. “Robbins's essay and the axiomatization of economics.” Journal of the History of Economic Thought 31, no. 4 (December 1, 2009): 485–99. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1053837209990277.
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    • Medema, S. G. “History by the numbers: A comment on Carlson and diamond.” Journal of the History of Economic Thought 31, no. 4 (December 1, 2009): 543–47. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1053837209990319.
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    • Medema, S. G. “"the history of economics is what historians of economics do:" A reconsideration of research priorities in the history of economic thought.” Journal of the History of Economic Thought 31, no. 3 (September 1, 2009): 384–91. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1053837209990216.
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    • Backhouse, R. E., and S. G. Medema. “On the definition of economics.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 23, no. 1 (January 1, 2009): 221–33. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.23.1.221.
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    • Backhouse, R. E., and S. G. Medema. “Defining economics: The Long Road to Acceptance of the Robbins Definition.” Economica 76, no. SUPPL.1 (January 1, 2009): 805–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0335.2009.00789.x.
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    • Medema, S. G. “"Losing my religion": Sidgwick, theism, and the struggle for utilitarian ethics in economic analysis.” History of Political Economy 40, no. 5 (December 1, 2008): 189–211. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-2007-066.
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    • Medema, S. G. “The hesitant hand: Mill, Sidgwick, and the evolution of the theory of market failure.” History of Political Economy 39, no. 3 (September 1, 2007): 331–58. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-2007-014.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Sidgwick's utilitarian analysis of law: A bridge from Bentham to Becker?” American Law and Economics Review 9, no. 1 (March 1, 2007): 30–47. https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahm008.
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    • Medema, S. G. “On "big five and little five" [4].” Society 43, no. 6 (September 1, 2006): 6. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02698476.
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    • Samuels, W. J., and S. G. Medema. “Freeing Smith from the "Free market": On the misperception of Adam Smith on the economic role of government.” History of Political Economy 37, no. 2 (June 1, 2005): 219–26. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-37-2-219.
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    • Medema, S. G. “"Marginalizing" government: From la scienza delle finanze to Wicksell.” History of Political Economy 37, no. 1 (March 1, 2005): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-37-1-1.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Setting the table.” History of Political Economy 37, no. SUPPL. (January 1, 2005): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-37-suppl_1-1.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Public Choice and Deviance: A Comment.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology 63, no. 1 (January 1, 2004): 51–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1536-7150.2004.00273.x.
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    • Medema, S. G. “"Related disciplines": The professionalization of public choice analysis.” History of Political Economy 32, no. SUPPL. (January 1, 2000): 322–23. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-32-suppl_1-289.
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    • Medema, S. G., and W. J. Samuels. “The economic role of government as, in part, a matter of selective perception, sentiment and valuation: The cases of Pigovian and Paretian welfare economics.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology 59, no. 1 (January 1, 2000): 87–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/1536-7150.00015.
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    • Medema, S. G. “23. Pearson's origins of law and economics: The economists' new science of law, 1830-1930 and Fried's the progressive assault on laissez faire: Robert Hale and the first law and economics movement.” Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology 18, no. SUPPL: PART A (January 1, 2000): 353–64.
    • Medema, S. G., and R. O. Zerbe. “Educating Alice: Lessons from the Coase theorem.” Research in Law and Economics 19 (January 1, 2000): 69–112.
    • Medema, S. G., and W. J. Samuels. “John R. Commons's "The definition of price".” Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology 18, no. SUPPL: PART B (January 1, 2000): 301–8.
    • Balisciano, M. L., and S. G. Medema. “Positive science, normative man: Lionel Robbins and the political economy of art.” History of Political Economy 31, no. SUPPL. 1 (January 1, 1999): 282–84. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-31-supplement-256.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Symposium on the Coase Theorem: Legal Fiction: The Place of the Coase Theorem in Law and Economics.” Economics and Philosophy 15, no. 2 (January 1, 1999): 209–33. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267100003989.
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    • Medema, S. G. “The trial of Homo economicus: What law and economics tells us about the development of economic imperialism.” History of Political Economy 29, no. SUPPL. (December 1, 1998): 140–42.
    • Aslanbeigui, N., and S. G. Medema. “Beyond the Dark Clouds: Pigou and Coase on Social Cost.” History of Political Economy 30, no. 4 (January 1, 1998): 600–625. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-30-4-601.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Wandering the road from pluralism to posner: The transformation of law and economics in the twentieth century.” History of Political Economy 30, no. SUPPL. 1 (January 1, 1998): 223–24. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182702-30-supplement-202.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Coase, costs, and coordination.” Journal of Economic Issues 30, no. 2 (January 1, 1996): 571–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/00213624.1996.11505821.
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    • Formby, J. P., S. G. Medema, and W. J. Smith. “Tax neutrality and social welfare in a comptutational general equilibrium framework.” Public Finance Review 23, no. 4 (January 1, 1995): 419–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/109114219502300401.
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    • MEDEMA, S. G. “Hanly on Coase: A Comment.” Journal of Applied Philosophy 11, no. 1 (January 1, 1994): 107–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5930.1994.tb00095.x.
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    • Ballard, C. L., and S. G. Medema. “The marginal efficiency effects of taxes and subsidies in the presence of externalities. A computational general equilibrium approach.” Journal of Public Economics 52, no. 2 (January 1, 1993): 199–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/0047-2727(93)90020-T.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Is there life beyond efficiency? Elements of a social law and economics.” Review of Social Economy 51, no. 2 (January 1, 1993): 138–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/00346769308616161.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Transactions, transaction costs, and vertical integration: A re-examination.” Review of Political Economy 4, no. 3 (January 1, 1992): 291–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/09538259200000021.
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    • Samuels, W. J., and S. G. Medema. “Gardiner C. Means's institutional and post-Keynesian economics.” Review of Political Economy 1, no. 2 (July 1, 1989): 163–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/09538258900000014.
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  • Book Sections

    • Medema, S. G. “His influence in the Anglo-Saxon world.” In Antonio de Viti de Marco: A Story Worth Remembering, 115–18, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53493-4_10.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Ronald Coase and the legal-economic nexus.” In The Elgar Companion to Ronald H. Coase, 291–304, 2016.
    • Backhouse, R. E., and S. G. Medema. “Walras in the age of Marshall: An analysis of English-language journals, 1890-1939.” In Economics and Other Branches - In the Shade of the Oak Tree: Essays in Honour of Pascal Bridel, 69–86, 2015. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315653808.
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    • Medema, S. G. “From dismal to dominance? Law and economics and the values of imperial science, historically contemplated.” In Law and Economics: Philosophical Issues and Fundamental Questions, 69–88, 2015. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315730882-5.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Wandering the road from pluralism to posner: The transformation of law and economics in the twentieth century.” In Law and Economics: A Reader, 16–32, 2013.
    • Medema, S. G. “Chicago price theory and chicago law and economics: A tale of two transitions.” In Building Chicago Economics: New Perspectives on the History of America’s Most Powerful Economics Program, 151–79, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139004077.012.
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    • Backhouse, R. E., B. W. Bateman, and S. G. Medema. “The reception of Marshall in the United States.” In The Impact of Alfred Marshall’s Ideas: The Global Diffusion of His Work, 59–80, 2010.
    • Medema, S. “History of economic thought.” In The Heart of Teaching Economics: Lessons from Leading Minds, 139–60, 2010.
    • Medema, S. G. “Adam Smith and the Chicago school.” In The Elgar Companion to the Chicago School of Economics, 40–51, 2010. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849806664.00010.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Richard A. Posner.” In The Elgar Companion to the Chicago School of Economics, 306–11, 2010. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849806664.00034.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Chicago law and economics.” In The Elgar Companion to the Chicago School of Economics, 160–74, 2010. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849806664.00018.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Ronald harry coase.” In The Elgar Companion to the Chicago School of Economics, 259–64, 2010. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849806664.00025.
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    • Medema, S. G. “Pigou's “prima facie case”: Market failure in theory and practice.” In No Wealth but Life: Welfare Economics and the Welfare State in Britain, 1880-1945, 42–61, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511750649.004.
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    • Backhouse, R. R., B. B. Bateman, and S. S. Medema. “The reception of Marshall in the United States.” In The Impact of Alfred Marshall’s Ideas: The Global Diffusion of His Work, 59–80, 2008.
    • Medema, S. G. “The Economic Role of Government in the History of Economic Thought.” In A Companion to the History of Economic Thought, 428–44, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470999059.ch27.
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    • Mercuro, N., S. G. Medema, and W. J. Samuels. “Robert Lee Hale (1884-1969)-legal economist.” In The Elgar Companion to Law and Economics: Second Edition, 531–44, 2005.
    • Medema, S. G. “The government-property relation: Confessions of a classical liberal.” In The Fundamental Interrelationships between Government and Property, 145–51, 2003. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203484654.
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• Teaching & Mentoring
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  Recent Courses

  • ECON 310S: Economic Analysis of Law 2021
  • ECON 311: History of Economic Thought 2021
  • ECON 511: History of Economic Thought 2021
  • HISTORY 307: History of Economic Thought 2021
  • ECON 311: History of Economic Thought 2020
  • ECON 390: Selected Topics in Economics 2020
  • ECON 511: History of Economic Thought 2020
  • HISTORY 307: History of Economic Thought 2020

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