Overview
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.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Publications
One Man a Committee Does Not Make: Henry Manne, the AEA-AALS Joint Committee, and the Struggle to Institutionalize Law and Economics
Journal Article History of Political Economy · June 1, 2025 In 1965, Henry Manne convinced the Association of American Law Schools and the American Economic Association to establish an ad hoc joint committee to explore the possibilities of collaborative efforts between economists and legal scholars. This article ex ... Full text CiteI GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS ... : AN EDITOR'S RETROSPECTIVE
Journal Article Journal of the History of Economic Thought · December 1, 2024 Full text CiteIDENTIFYING A CHICAGO SCHOOL of ECONOMICS: On the ORIGINS, DIFFUSION, and EVOLVING MEANINGS of A FAMOUS NAME BRAND
Journal Article Journal of the History of Economic Thought · June 16, 2024 Though the Chicago school has been the subject of no small amount of research over the past several decades, that scholarship has focused largely on persons, ideas, and influence - in short, on the school itself. No attention has been paid to the origins o ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
Challenging Law's Foundations: The Coase Theorem Controversy in Legal Analysis
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Institute for Humane Studies · 2020 - 2021View All Grants