EVENT: Lecture by Harvard economist Oliver Hart on the theory of the firm and organizations

Economic theorist Oliver Hart, the Andrew E. Furer Professor of Economics at Harvard University, will give this year's McKenzie Lecture at 4 p.m. Friday, May 2, in room 207 of Schlegel Hall on the University of Rochester's River Campus. In a talk titled "Firms vs. Contract," Hart will discuss the theory of the firm and organizations, financial structure of firms, and contract theory.

Born in Britain, Hart holds degrees from King's College and Warwick University, and earned a doctorate in economics from Princeton University. He has taught at the London School of Economics as well as at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard law and business schools. He became professor of economics at Harvard in 1993 and now is chairman of the Department of Economics.

Hart has written extensively on the theory of the firm and organizations. His most recent book, Firms, Contracts and Financial Structure (Oxford University Press, 1995), deals with his research since 1980. His work has revolutionized the field of corporate finance. Many of Hart's theories focus on the division of power in economic relationships.

Starting in the spring of 1986, graduate students in the Department of Economics at the University of Rochester have selected an outstanding scholar to deliver a lecture in honor of Lionel McKenzie, Wilson Professor Emeritus of Economics. The lecture series recognizes McKenzie's outstanding contributions to the field of economics and his lifelong commitment to Rochester's doctoral program in economics.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the economics department at (585) 275-5252.