Other versions by this Author
This book provides an accessible introduction to the burgeoning discipline of institutional economics, and to the central issues of private property rights and their competitive use. The book develops the issues from fundamental premises about human cognition and motivation.
This text breaks new ground in that it summarises the contemporary institutional literature in a cohesive manner.
The book will not only be welcomed by the student of economics but will also be essential to jurists, business managers, anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists, social historians and moral philosophers.
Institutional Economics : Social Order and Public Policy
by Kasper, Wolfgang; Streit, Manfred E.Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2000-01-01
Publisher(s): Edward Elgar Pub
List Price: $58.00
Buy Used
Usually Ships in 24-48 Hours
$41.76
Rent Textbook
Select for Price
New Textbook
We're Sorry
Sold Out
eTextbook
We're Sorry
Not Available
This item is being sold by an Individual Seller and will not ship from the Online Bookstore's warehouse. The Seller must confirm the order within two business days. If the Seller refuses to sell or fails to confirm within this time frame, then the order is cancelled.
Please be sure to read the Description offered by the Seller.
Summary
Author Biography
Wolfgang Kasper is Professor of Economics at the University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia.
Table of Contents
| List of figures | p. viii |
| List of tables | p. ix |
| Foreword | p. x |
| Introduction: Why Institutions Matter | p. 1 |
| Why do institutions matter? | p. 2 |
| The record of economic growth | p. 7 |
| Explaining economic growth | p. 13 |
| Foundations | |
| Definitions: Economics, Institutions, Order and Policy | p. 27 |
| Basic definitions | p. 28 |
| The precursors of contemporary institutional economics | p. 33 |
| Human Behaviour | p. 42 |
| The knowledge problem | p. 44 |
| Types of behaviour, cognition and bounded rationality: deciphering reality | p. 53 |
| Motivation: by love, command or self-interest | p. 59 |
| The principal-agent problem | p. 65 |
| Fundamental Human Values | p. 70 |
| Shared, underlying values | p. 71 |
| Freedom, justice and equity | p. 76 |
| Security, peace and prosperity | p. 80 |
| Conservation of the environment | p. 86 |
| Institutions: Individual Rules | p. 92 |
| Overview: rules and enforcement | p. 93 |
| Internal institutions | p. 100 |
| External institutions and protective government | p. 109 |
| The functions of institutions | p. 118 |
| The essential properties of effective institutions | p. 122 |
| The costs of interaction and coordination | p. 125 |
| Institutional Systems and Social Order | p. 133 |
| Social systems and hierarchies of rules | p. 134 |
| Two kinds of social order | p. 142 |
| The perceptions of order influence public policy | p. 155 |
| Rule systems as part of culture | p. 161 |
| Social order and human values: the rule of law | p. 165 |
| Applications | |
| The Institutional Foundations of Capitalism | p. 173 |
| Capitalism: property rights and private autonomy | p. 175 |
| Essential characteristics of property rights | p. 177 |
| Using property rights: free contracts and transaction costs | p. 191 |
| Relational contracts, self-enforcement and the judiciary | p. 200 |
| The consequences of capitalism | p. 204 |
| Institutions which secure the services of money | p. 211 |
| The Dynamics of Competition | p. 220 |
| Competition: rivalry and choice | p. 221 |
| Competition from the suppliers' perspective | p. 235 |
| Restrictions of economic competition | p. 245 |
| The competitive system | p. 251 |
| Economic Organisations | p. 256 |
| Economic organisations: definition and purposes | p. 257 |
| Organisation costs, relational contracts and hold-up risks | p. 266 |
| Ownership and control: the principal-agent problem in business | p. 270 |
| Collective Action: Public Policy | p. 285 |
| Public versus private choice | p. 287 |
| The functions of government | p. 293 |
| A liberal model of public policy: order policy | p. 311 |
| Failures of the welfare state | p. 317 |
| Political action and rent creation | p. 324 |
| Controlling the political agents: authority, rules, openness | p. 326 |
| Political and economic constitutions | p. 332 |
| The International Dimension | p. 342 |
| The growing significance of the international dimension | p. 343 |
| The institutional framework of international exchanges | p. 354 |
| Policy issues: international economic order | p. 368 |
| On strengthening the open economic order | p. 377 |
| The Evolution of Institutions | p. 381 |
| Historical reminiscences: the long view on institutional change | p. 383 |
| Internal institutions: evolution within cultural values and meta rules | p. 390 |
| Changing the external institutions: political entrepreneurship | p. 395 |
| Outside challenges: institutional competition | p. 399 |
| Competitive federalism | p. 404 |
| The constitution of freedom as a framework for evolution | p. 407 |
| Alternative Economic Systems and Systems Transformation | p. 410 |
| The economic performance of alternative systems | p. 411 |
| Socialism in retrospect | p. 416 |
| Transforming socialist economies | p. 430 |
| Reforming the Mixed Economies | p. 451 |
| Economic liberties and prosperity | p. 452 |
| Economic development: the role of institutional change | p. 457 |
| Reforming the mature economies | p. 470 |
| 'I, Pencil' | p. 490 |
| Bibliography | p. 494 |
| Index | p. 507 |
| Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved. |
An electronic version of this book is available through VitalSource.
This book is viewable on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and most smartphones.
By purchasing, you will be able to view this book online, as well as download it, for the chosen number of days.
A downloadable version of this book is available through the eCampus Reader or compatible Adobe readers.
Applications are available on iOS, Android, PC, Mac, and Windows Mobile platforms.
Please view the compatibility matrix prior to purchase.