Coase studied the provision of lighthouse services in Great Britain from 1513 to 1989 and concluded that lighthouse services, which others had described as a quintessential government service, were actually provided by private enterprise rather than government for an extensive period of human history. However, the government had a substantially greater role in the provision of lighthouse services than Coase suggested. Even when private parties provided the capital for lighthouses, the government provided several services beyond those provided to providers of other goods and services. Thus, the terms "government" and "private" are too vague and unspecified to be useful. Instead, the provision of all goods and services in organized society involves some governmental involvement. The lighthouse was a case in which the specific nature of the problems posed, the wider legal rules, and the available technology all helped determine the institutional form of the service. Thus, what is important is to understand the nature of the government's involvement in the provision of specific goods and services. Footnotes