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The Rational Design of International Institutions

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Author Info
Barbara Koremenos
Charles Lipson
Duncan Snidal
Abstract

Why do international institutions vary so widely in terms of such key institutional features as membership, scope, and flexibility? We argue that international actors are goal-seeking agents who make specific institutional design choices to solve the particular cooperation problems they face in different issue-areas. In this article we introduce the theoretical framework of the Rational Design project. We identify five important features of institutions - membership, scope, centralization, control, and flexibility - and explain their variation in terms of four independent variables that characterize different cooperation problems: distribution, number of actors, enforcement, and uncertainty. We draw on rational choice theory to develop a series of empirically falsifiable conjectures that explain this institutional variation. The authors of the articles in this special issue of International Organization evaluate the conjectures in specific issue-areas and the overall Rational Design approach. © 2001 The IO Foundation and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Article provided by MIT Press in its journal International Organization.

Volume (Year): 55 (2001)
Issue (Month): 4 (October)
Pages: 761-799
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Handle: RePEc:tpr:intorg:v:55:y:2001:i:4:p:761-799

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  1. P. B. Anand, 2003. "From conflict to co-operation: some design issues for local collective action institutions in cities," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(2), pages 231-243. [Downloadable!]
  2. Mark Fey & Kristopher Ramsay, 2009. "Mechanism design goes to war: peaceful outcomes with interdependent and correlated types," Review of Economic Design, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 233-250, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Rixen, Thomas, 2008. "The institutional Design of international double Taxation Avoidance," MPRA Paper 8322, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  4. Weiqing Song, 2007. "Regionalisation, inter-regional cooperation and global governance," Asia Europe Journal, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 67-82, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Rixen, Thomas & Rohlfing, Ingo, 2005. "The Political Economy of Bilateralism and Multilateralism: Institutional Choice in Trade and Taxation," MPRA Paper 325, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2005. [Downloadable!]
  6. John S. Odell, 2003. "Making and Breaking Impasses in International Regimes. The WTO, Seattle and Doha," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 1, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS). [Downloadable!]
  7. Rixen, Thomas, 2005. "Internationale Kooperation im asymmetrischen Gefangenendilemma: Das OECD Projekt gegen schädlichen Steuerwettbewerb," MPRA Paper 329, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2005. [Downloadable!]
  8. William Phelan, 2008. "Open International Markets without Exclusion: Encompassing Domestic Institutions, Excludable Goods, and International Public Goods," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp245, IIIS. [Downloadable!]
  9. Blom, Tannelie & Radulova, Elissaveta & Arnold, Christine, 2008. "Theorizing Modes of Governance in the EU: Institutional Design and Informational Complexity," European Governance Papers (EUROGOV) 4, CONNEX and EUROGOV networks. [Downloadable!]
  10. David M. Trubek, Patrick Cottrell, Mark Nance, 2005. "“Soft Law,” “Hard Law,” and European Integration: Toward a Theory of Hybridity," Jean Monnet Working Papers 2, Jean Monnet Chair. [Downloadable!]
  11. Howard Loewen, 2006. "Towards a Dynamic Model of the Interplay Between International Institutions," GIGA Working Paper Series 17, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies. [Downloadable!]
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