The Cognitive Mechanisms of Economic Development and Institutional Change (Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy, 54)

This book seeks to explain long-term economic development and institutional change in terms of the cognitive features of human learning and communication processes. Martens links individual cognitive processes to macroeconomic growth theories, including economies of scale and scope, and to theories of institutional development based on asymmetric information in production processes and economies of scale in enforcement technology. With considerable flair, Bertin Martens has applied the hot new area of psychological and behavioural economics to notions of growth and development and has created a unique and impressive volume. Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Title......Page 8 Copyright......Page 9 Contents......Page 10 Illustrations......Page 11 Acknowledgements......Page 12 1 Introduction......Page 16 Part I Knowledge and Economics......Page 28 2 The Uneasy Relationship Between Knowledge and Economics......Page 30 3 The Role of Distributed Knowledge in Economics......Page 45 Part II The Principle of Cognitive Economy......Page 61 4 Knowledge and the Principle of Cognitive Economy......Page 63 5 Communication and Distributed Knowledge......Page 86 6 The Economy as a Knowledge Communication System......Page 101 7 Economies of Scope......Page 118 Part III The Cognitive Mechanics of Institutional Change......Page 134 8 The Role of Institutions......Page 137 9 The States Monopoly on Violence......Page 152 10 Endogenous Institutions......Page 168 Notes......Page 189 Bibliography......Page 195 Index......Page 206 Annotation This book seeks to explain long-term economic development and institutional change in terms of the cognitive features of human learning and communication processes. Martens links individual cognitive processes to macroeconomic growth theories, including economies of scale and scope, and to theories of institutional development based on asymmetric information in production processes and economies of scale in enforcement technology. With considerable flair, Bertin Martens has applied the hot new area of psychological and behavioural economics to notions of growth and development and has created a unique and impressive volume Explains long-term economic development in terms of the cognitive features of human learning and communication processes. The text links the latter to theories of institutional development based on asymmetric information in production processes; to economies of scale in enforcement technology; and to macroeconomic growth theories