This article reviews changes in thinking about the scope and design of government institutions. It looks at the rationales for privatization of state-owned utilities and the recent reforms in the U.K., New Zealand, and elsewhere to social service agencies and the institutions of economic policy...

The orthodox theory of economic growth has long been unable to explain some real world "stylized.facts" such as the reasons for continued long-run expansion, the absence of convergence in per capita incomes across rich and poor countries and the frequent presence of medium-term changes in growth...