2008-08-03 Mandatory reading for MBA's

Williamson's EIOC is not the easiest read, but the insights it offers are real gems. The book explores the spectrum of contract space from deep liquid commodity markets, through a range of intermediate structures through to vertical itegration by common ownership. Read in conjunction with other "standard" MBA texts on micro-economics a balanced understanding of how markets clear and why they are so structured can be reached. A key focus is vertical integration, but the text offers much more. I used it as a key reference in a Henley Management College MBA dissertation on the factors influencing VI in the UK Electricity, but have found the ideas it contains to be more broadly applicable than I expected. See also papers by Coase, Harrigan, and Joskow et al if VI is your thing.