寇斯定理(英語:Coase theorem),描敍一個經濟體系內部的資源配置與產出,在外部性存在的情形下,其經濟效率所可能受到的影響。這個理論由諾貝爾經濟學獎得主羅納德·寇斯在1960年代的論文中提出。喬治·斯蒂格勒在1966年出版的經濟學教科書中,首次將他的見解進行歸納,並被後人稱為寇斯定理,事實上他不曾使用過寇斯定理一詞,或者定義他們可以自己解決外部性問題。
其核心思想是交易成本。《新帕爾格雷夫經濟學詞典》中由羅伯特·庫特對「寇斯定理」的解釋。他寫道:「從強調交易成本解釋的角度說,寇斯定理可以描述如下:只要交易成本等於零,法定權利(即產權)的初始配置並不影響效率。」
寇斯是在考慮無線電廣播頻率時發展出寇斯定理的。兩家廣播電台假如在同一個頻段廣播,便可能互相干擾,而管理者則必須將各個頻段以最有效率的方式分配給不同的廣播電台,從而消除電台之間的干擾。寇斯的定理認為,只要對頻率的產權界定清楚,那麼無論頻率在初始階段如何分配,市場最終都會達到最有效率的狀態。過程如下:在兩家存在爭議的電台之間,從爭議頻段中可以獲得更大利益的電台甲假如對該頻段沒有產權,他也有足夠的誘因向另一家電台乙購買或租用該頻段的使用權,因為甲為了拿到頻段而願意付出的金額必定大於乙為了放棄頻段而願意接受的金額。因此,頻段的初始分配會影響到兩家電台的盈虧狀況,卻改變不了頻段達到最有效率的分配狀態的必然結果。
以上的情況,只有在沒有交易成本的情況下才成立,而在交易成本存在的情況下,市場參與者之間的交易中便會出現阻礙。比如在以上的例子當中,甲為了拿到頻段而願意出的金額當中,有一部分必須作為甲乙雙方的交易成本(如談判費、訴訟費等)被扣除,餘下的數量或許就不足以為了放棄頻段而願意接受的金額,甲可能就爭取不到對該頻段的使用權,市場就無法達到最有效率的狀況。因此,在分配產權時,分配者應該儘量減低有可能出現的交易成本,使市場參與者能夠進行交易,這樣市場才能夠達到有效率的最終狀態。
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