The three papers to which this comment is directed bring to vivid life the role of institutions in the economic performance of nations. The empirical examples the papers use illustrate specific institutional influences on at least two broad measures of economic performance: per capita income and...

This paper utilizes a simple production function model to assess the relative importance of national flags and national flag colors on the well-being of 93 nations in 2007. It finds that the existence of national flags affects well-being positively. Well-being is inelastic with respect to...

This exploratory paper estimates the effects on well-being of two very important institutional symbols of 59 countries in 2007: national flags and constitutions. The results indicate that well-being responds positively to investment in material things as well as the existence of flags. However,...