Economic Behavior and Institutions: Principles of Neoinstitutional Economics (Cambridge Surveys of Economic Literature)

An important new research program has developed in economics that extends neoclassical economic theory in order to examine the effects of institutions on economic behavior. The body of work emerging from this new line of inquiry includes contributions from the various branches of economic theory, such as the economics of property rights, the theory of the firm, cliometrics and law and economics. This book is the first comprehensive survey of this research program, which the author terms "neoinstitutional economics." The author proposes a unified approach to this research, integrating the work of various contributors and emphasizing the common principles of inquiry that tie the work together. The theoretical discussion is accomplished by empirical studies dealing with a whole range of institutions and economic systems. An important research programme has developed in economics that extends neo-classical economic theory in order to examine the effects of institutions on economic behaviour. The body of work emerging from this line of inquiry includes contributions from various branches of economic theory, such as the economics of property rights, the theory of the firm, cliometrics and law and economics. This book is a comprehensive survey of this research programme which the author terms 'neoinstitutional economics'. The author proposes a unified approach to this research, integrating the work of various contributors and emphasising the common principles of inquiry that tie the work together. The theoretical discussion is accompanied by empirical studies dealing with a range of institutions and economic systems. This book will serve as the primary resource for economists and students who want to learn about this important branch of economic theory This book is a comprehensive survey of 'neoinstitutional economics', which integrates neo-classical economic theory and the effects of institutions on economic behaviour. This unified approach emphasises economics of property rights, the theory of the firm, cliometrics, law and economics. This book is a primary resource for economists and students studying this important branch of economic theory. In this chapter we contrast the economics of exclusive and nonexclusive ownership of resources and examine the consequences of alternative sets of social rules.