A key theoretical and methodological issue for comparative scholars concerns the non-identical nature of actors across different institutional contexts. This paper reviews the relationship between actors and institutions within various strands of institutional theory, showing some emerging...

From a theoretical point of view, explaining institutional stability and institutional change has remained a difficult task. The new institutional economics initially identified economic efficiency as the main driver of institutional change. In more recent times, it has been recognized that...

Studies on institutional change generally pertain to the agency-structure paradox or the ability of institutional entrepreneurs to spearhead change despite constraints. In many complex fields, however, change also needs cooperation from numerous dispersed actors. This presents the additional...

Why do some societies fail to adopt more efficient political and economic institutions in response to changing economic conditions? And why do such conditions sometimes generate conservative ideological backlashes and, at other times, progressive social and political movements? We propose an...

Why do some societies fail to adopt more efficient institutions in response to changing economic conditions? And why do such conditions sometimes generate ideological backlashes and at other times lead to transformative sociopolitical movements? We propose an explanation that highlights the...