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Institutions Matter

Author

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  • Douglass C. North

    (Washington University)

Abstract

Successful development policy entails an understanding of the dynamics of economic change if the policies pursued are to have the desired consequences. And a dynamic model of economic change entails as an integral part of that model analysis of the polity since it is the polity that specifies and enforces the formal rules. While we are still some distance from having such a model the structure that is evolving in the new institutional economics, even though incomplete, suggests radically different development policies than those of either traditional development economists or orthodox neo- classical economists. Development economists have typically treated the state as either exogenous or as a benign actor in the development process. Neo-classical economists have implicitly assumed that institutions (economic as well as political) don't matter and that the static analysis embodied in allocative-efficiency models should be the guide to policy; that is "getting the prices right" by eliminating exchange and price controls. In fact the state can never be treated as an exogenous actor in development policy and getting the prices right only has the desired consequences when you already have in place a set of property rights and enforcement that will then produce the competitive conditions that will result in efficient markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Douglass C. North, 1994. "Institutions Matter," Economic History 9411004, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpeh:9411004
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Institutional economics hypothesis of the day
      by UDADISI in udadisi on 2011-10-07 06:13:00
    2. Institutions, revolutions and growth
      by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2011-07-16 17:47:23

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Amable, Bruno, 1999. "Institutional complementarity and diversity of social systems of innovation and production," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Economic Change and Employment FS I 99-309, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    2. Colagrossi, Marco & Rossignoli, Domenico & Maggioni, Mario A., 2020. "Does democracy cause growth? A meta-analysis (of 2000 regressions)," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    3. Smith, Kip & Dickhaut, John, 2005. "Economics and emotion: Institutions matter," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 316-335, August.
    4. Chauhan, Yogesh & Jaiswall, Manju & Goyal, Vinay, 2022. "Does societal trust affect corporate capital structure?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PA).
    5. Hosseini, Hossein Mirshojaeian & Kaneko, Shinji, 2013. "Can environmental quality spread through institutions?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 312-321.
    6. Krammer, Sorin M.S., 2015. "Do good institutions enhance the effect of technological spillovers on productivity? Comparative evidence from developed and transition economies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 133-154.
    7. Koen, Carla I., 2004. "The dialectics of globalization: what are the effects for management and organization in Germany and Japan," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 173-197, June.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N - Economic History

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