Ratio Working Papers
No 116:
Concatenate Coordination and Mutual Coordination
Daniel B. Klein ()
and Aaron Orsborn ()
Abstract: We tell of the evolving meaning of the term coordination
as used by economists. The paper is based on systematic electronic searches
(on “coord,” etc.) of major works and leading journals. The term
coordination first emerged in professional economics around 1880, to
describe the directed productive concatenation of factors or activities
within a firm. Also, transportation economists used the term to describe
the concatenation of routes and trips of a transportation system. These
usages represent what we term concatenate coordination. The next major
development came in the 1930s from several LSE economists (Hayek, Plant,
Hutt, and Coase), who extended that concept beyond the eye of any actual
coordinator. That is, they wrote of the concatenate coordination of a
system of polycentric or spontaneous activities. These various applications
of concatenate coordination prevailed until the next major development,
namely, Thomas Schelling and game models. Here coordination referred to a
mutual meshing of actions. Game theorists developed crisp ideas of
coordination games (like “battle of the sexes”), coordination equilibria,
convention, and path dependence. This “coordination” was not a
refashioning, but rather a distinct concept, one we distinguish as mutual
coordination. As game models became more familiar to economists, it was
mutual coordination that economists increasingly had in mind when they
spoke of “coordination.” Economists switched, so to speak, to a new
semantic equilibrium. Now, mutual coordination overshadows the older notion
of concatenate coordination. The two senses of coordination are
conceptually distinct and correspond neatly to the two dictionary
definitions of the verb to coordinate. Both are crucial to economics. We
suggest that distinguishing between the two senses can help to clarify
“coordination” talk. Also, compared to talk of “efficiency” and
“optimality,” concatenate coordination allows for a richer, more
humanistic, and more openly aesthetic discussion of social affairs. The
narrative is backed up by Excel worksheets that report on systematic
content searches of the writings of economics using the worldwide web and,
using JSTOR, of Quarterly Journal of Economics, Economic Journal, Journal
of Political Economy, American Economic Review, and Economica.
Keywords: coordination; concatenation; planning; coordination equilibrium; focal point; (follow links to similar papers)
JEL-Codes: A10; B00; C70; D02; (follow links to similar papers)
32 pages, January 3, 2008
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- This paper is published as:
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Klein, Daniel B. and Aaron Orsborn, (2009), 'Concatenate Coordination and Mutual Coordination', Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Vol. 72, October, No. 1, pages 176-187
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