In his book "The Firm, the Market and the Law," (1988, The Chicago University Press, pp. 7-8) Ronald H. Coase, the father of Law and Economics, affirms that,
"In an economic theory which assumes that transaction costs are nonexistent, markets have no function to perform, and it seems perfectly reasonable to develop the theory of exchange by an elaborate analysis of individual exchanging nuts for apples on the edge of the forest or some similar fanciful example"
Accordingly, the study of the functioning of economic institutions (of capitalism) implies an accurate analysis of transaction costs. This analysis, the core of Law and Economics, is essential to a valuable law- and policy-making process.
Activities of the Brenno Galli Chair at USI aim at teaching and researching on the field of Economic Analysis of Law. Main research matters include institutional economics, corporate governance, antitrust law and economics, and economics of contracts. Since 2010, Assistant Professor Massimiliano Vatiero has held the Brenno Galli Chair.
Finally, since July 2014, Marcello Puca and Massimiliano Vatiero have been working on the research project "Institutional complementarities among corporate ownership, employment protection and innovation: the Swiss case," which has been supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Brenno Galli (Lugano, 09.26.1910-Lugano, 08.20.1978)
- President of the Swiss National Bank, 1959-1978
- Member of the Cantonal Government of the Canton of Ticino, 1946-1959
- Member of the Swiss National Council, 1959-1971
Source: Swiss National Bank. Further information (in French, German, and Italian): Dizionario Storico della Svizzera