Institutions and the Path to the Modern Economy: Lessons from Medieval Trade (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions)

It is widely believed that current disparities in economic, political, and social outcomes reflect distinct institutions. Institutions are invoked to explain why some countries are rich and others poor, some democratic and others dictatorial. But arguments of this sort gloss over the question of what institutions are, how they come about, and why they persist. They also fail to explain why institutions are influenced by the past, why it is that they can sometimes change, why they differ so much from society to society, and why it is hard to study them empirically and devise a policy aimed at altering them. This 2006 book seeks to overcome these problems, which have exercised economists, sociologists, political scientists, and a host of other researchers who use the social sciences to study history, law, and business administration. It presents a multi-disciplinary perspective to study endogenous institutions and their dynamics. It Is Widely Believed That Current Disparities In Economic, Political And Social Outcomes Reflect Distinct Institutions. Avner Greif Presents A Multi-disciplinary Perspective To Study Endogenous Institutions And Their Dynamics And To Understand Why They Are Influenced By The Past. Preliminaries -- Institutions As Systems In Equilibria -- Institutional Dynamics As A Historical Process -- The Empirical Method Of Comparative And Historical Institutional Analysis -- Concluding Comments. Avner Greif. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 453-488) And Index. On March 28, 1210, Rubeus de Campo of Genoa agreed to pay a debt of 100 marks sterling in London on behalf of Vivianus Jordanus from Lucca.1