In this landmark work, a Nobel Prize-winning economist develops a new way of understanding the process by which economies change. Douglass North inspired a revolution in economic history a generation ago by demonstrating that economic performance is determined largely by the kind and quality of...

Introduction -- The Foundations: Human Needs and Cultural Background -- Culture in Economic Thinking -- Cultural Background and Economic System -- The Effect of Cultural Background on Incentives, Growth and Distribution and Vice Versa -- Cultural Background and Rationality -- The Cultural...

The theme of this extensive book is the relationship between consumption and growth in the context of the long run theory of effective demand. Taking Schumpeter's views on economic development as a starting point, the author proposes an original framework for the analysis of consumption patterns...