IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cup/apsrev/v112y2018i01p82-98_00.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

When Order Affects Performance: Culture, Behavioral Spillovers, and Institutional Path Dependence

Author

Listed:
  • BEDNAR, JENNA
  • PAGE, SCOTT E.

Abstract

Evidence suggests that the cultural context influences the performance of laws, policies, and political institutions. Descriptive accounts reveal that outcomes and behaviors often depend on the array of historical institutions. This article presents a multi-institutional framework that can account for those findings through path-dependent behavioral spillovers. Individuals learn equilibrium behaviors when interacting in a new institutional setting. Initially, some individuals choose behaviors that align with their behaviors in similar extant institutions, creating a cultural context that can lead to inefficient outcomes. The article shows how avoiding path dependence requires sequencing (or designing) institutions to maintain behavioral diversity. Optimal sequencing thus requires positioning institutions with clear incentives early in the sequence as well as avoiding strong punishments that can stifle attempts to break established behavioral patterns.

Suggested Citation

  • Bednar, Jenna & Page, Scott E., 2018. "When Order Affects Performance: Culture, Behavioral Spillovers, and Institutional Path Dependence," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 112(1), pages 82-98, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:112:y:2018:i:01:p:82-98_00
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003055417000466/type/journal_article
    File Function: link to article abstract page
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Eszter Kazinczy, 2021. "The two distinct systems of socialist Albania and SFR Yugoslavia: A comparative analysis using Kornai?s ?Main Line of Causality?," HISTORY OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT AND POLICY, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 10(2), pages 31-51.
    2. Barisik, Salih & Ergen, Kubilay, 2020. "Alternative Variables for Geography and Institutional Structure: European Colonies and an Evaluation of sub-Saharan African Countries," Asian Journal of Applied Economics, Kasetsart University, Center for Applied Economics Research, vol. 27(1).
    3. Robbert Maseland & Rok Spruk, 2023. "The benefits of US statehood: an analysis of the growth effects of joining the USA," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 17(1), pages 49-89, January.
    4. Tracy Xiao Liu & Jenna Bednar & Yan Chen & Scott Page, 2019. "Directional behavioral spillover and cognitive load effects in multiple repeated games," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 22(3), pages 705-734, September.
    5. Gerlinde Fellner-Röhling & Sabine Kröger & Erika Seki, 2021. "Information Regime Changes and Path Dependence - An Experimental Analysis of Public Goods Contributions in Heterogeneous Groups," CIRANO Working Papers 2021s-13, CIRANO.
    6. Sean Gailmard, 2020. "Game theory and the study of American political development," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 185(3), pages 335-357, December.
    7. Gregory W. Caskey & Ilia Murtazashvili, 2022. "The predatory state and coercive assimilation: The case of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 191(1), pages 217-235, April.
    8. Steven Jacob Bosworth & Simon Bartke, 2019. "Cross-task spillovers in workplace teams: Motivation vs. learning," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2019-15, Department of Economics, University of Reading.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:112:y:2018:i:01:p:82-98_00. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kirk Stebbing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cambridge.org/psr .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.