Between 1872 and 1920 rights to hardrock mineral stocks and petroleum reservoirs on public lands in the western United States were assigned using essentially the same system. In 1920, however, Congress enacted a leasing system for petroleum, leaving the 1872 Mining Law intact for hardrock...

Like many professional sports leagues worldwide, the National Basketball Association is organized as a cooperative of team owners. We argue that league ownership structures must balance two types of transaction costs: the costs of contracting with stakeholders of the league, importantly players,...