Institutions, institutional change, and economic performance
Erschienen:
1990
Verlag:
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
"Continuing his groundbreaking analysis of economic structures, Douglass North develops an analytical framework for explaining the ways in which institutions and institutional change affect the performance of economies, both at a given time and over...
mehr
Universitätsbibliothek der Eberhard Karls Universität
Fernleihe:
keine Fernleihe
"Continuing his groundbreaking analysis of economic structures, Douglass North develops an analytical framework for explaining the ways in which institutions and institutional change affect the performance of economies, both at a given time and over time. Institutions exist, he argues, due to the uncertainties involved in human interaction; they are the constraints devised to structure that interaction. Yet, institutions vary widely in their consequences for economic performance; some economies develop institutions that produce growth and development, while others develop institutions that produce stagnation. North first explores the nature of institutions and explains the role of transaction and production costs in their development. The second part of the book deals with institutional change. Institutions create the incentive structure in an economy, and organisations will be created to take advantage of the opportunities provided within a given institutional framework. North argues that the kinds of skills and knowledge fostered by the structure of an economy will shape the direction of change and gradually alter the institutional framework. He then explains how institutional development may lead to a path-dependent pattern of development. In the final part of the book, North explains the implications of this analysis for economic theory and economic history. He indicates how institutional analysis must be incorporated into neo-classical theory and explores the potential for the construction of a dynamic theory of long-term economic change"--Provided by publisher
Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-146) and index. - Description based on print version record
Part I. Institutions1. An introduction to institutions and institutional change -- 2. Cooperation: the theoretical problem -- 3. The behavioural assumptions in a theory of institutions -- 4. A transaction cost theory of exchange -- 5. Informal constraints -- 6. Formal constraints -- 7. Enforcement -- 8. Institutions and transaction and transformation costs -- Part II. Institutional change -- 9. Organizations, learning, and institutional change -- 10. Stability and institutional change -- 11. The path of institutional change -- Part III. Economic performance -- 12. Institutions, economic theory, and economic performance -- 13. Stability and change in economic history -- 14. Incorporating institutional analysis into economic history: prospects and puzzles.
