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Institutions as enabling constraints. A note on social norms, social change and economic development

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  • Slawomir Czech

    (University of Economics in Katowice)

Abstract

Both formal and informal institutions are usually perceived as constraints that structure and limit human behavior. This is understandable when we use them as an addition to neoclassical economics and as an attempt to overcome its deficiencies. Yet institutions also enable behavior which would otherwise probably be inexistent. This paper aims to highlight the enabling feature of institutions and briefly recognizes selected consequences of it. We argue (1) that because institutional arrangements cause specific distribution results thus the process of institutional change is virtually infinite and does not have to lead to socially optimal effects and (2) that informal institutions (social norms) have today important explanatory and creative power for the existing social order and economic development. We conclude by suggesting that more interdisciplinary approach to economics may contribute to our better understanding of socioeconomic reality and indicate promising threads of current research.

Suggested Citation

  • Slawomir Czech, 2014. "Institutions as enabling constraints. A note on social norms, social change and economic development," Ekonomia i Prawo, Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika, vol. 13(2), pages 309-319, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpn:umkeip:v:13:y:2014:i:2:p:309-319
    DOI: 10.12775/EiP.2014.023
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rose, David C., 2014. "The Moral Foundation of Economic Behavior," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199360598, Decembrie.
    2. Greif,Avner, 2006. "Institutions and the Path to the Modern Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521480444.
    3. Masahiko Aoki, 2001. "Toward a Comparative Institutional Analysis," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262011875, December.
    4. Voigt, Stefan, 2013. "How (Not) to measure institutions," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-26, March.
    5. Douglass C. North, 1991. "Institutions," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 97-112, Winter.
    6. G. Hodgson, 2007. "What Are Institutions?," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 8.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Cherrier, Helene & Goswami, Paromita & Ray, Subhasis, 2018. "Social entrepreneurship: Creating value in the context of institutional complexity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 245-258.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    institutions; institutional change; social order; economic evolution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General

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