Performativity of economic systems: Approach and implications for taxonomy

The paper proposes to ground the taxonomy of economic systems on the identification of strongly performative institutions as distinctive features. I analyse performativity on the basis of the Aoki model of institutions, enriched by current approaches to performativity, which I combine with Searle's notion of a status function. Performativity is conceived as resulting from the conjunction of public representations (sign systems) and behavioral dispositions which channel strategic interactions among actors such that certain sets of institutions are reproduced recurrently. I apply this approach on the case of financial capitalism and analyze three strongly performative institutions, the accounting standards (IFRS), managerial incentive systems and intellectual property rights.