During the last phase of state socialism, the economic reforms attempted by these counties didn't stop the collapse of communism. Neither did the free market economic reforms in the democratic West starting around 1975 bring progress and prosperity expected. The frustrations of both these...

This paper explores the problem of credible commitment that public officials face with regard to institutional reform. Doug North points out that while economies grow as a result of the provision of governance, I argue that creating an entity with a geographic monopoly simultaneously limits the...

Increasing the realism with respect to the representation of actors, decision-making, and institutions is critical to better understand the transition towards a low-carbon sustainable society since actors, decision-making, and institutions are the defining elements of transition pathways. In...

Transformation wird als Wandel einer kollektiven Identität verstanden. Daher hat diese Analyse einen wirtschaftsanthropologischen Zuschnitt: Gefragt wird nach den nicht-ökonomischen Voraussetzungen ökonomischer Entwicklung. Basis ist ein institutionalistischer, teilweise...

Possible policy implications of the New Institutional Economics are dealt with. Before spelling them out, the core questions of this research program as well as its main assumptions and hypotheses are described. Since a familiar reproach toward the New Institutional Economics is its lack of...