Institutionen und historische Grenzen

The relevance of (political) borders on the one hand and of historical conditions on the other hand for some of today’s aspects of ec onomic and social reality is well established in both theoretical and empirical research in economics as wel as in other disciplines. More surprising are empirical results that point to a long-lasting relevance of historical borders that may still exert causal on effects on present conditions and observations. This paper argues that the explanation of these effects is a demanding, albeit potentially very rewarding challenge for institutional economics in particular and an interdisciplinary research program in general.