Institutional Economics: Social Order and Public Policy (Locke Institute Series) Book

?The book is a milestone in providing theoretical illustration of the immense practical, social and economic importance of the subject matter. . . . The book is particularly strong on systematically combining different societal phenomena (such as organizations, institutions, markets, systems, order, collective actions, culture and policy), dealt with conventionally by such different disciplines as social, behavioural, management and economic sciences. . . . The didactical format of the book is well designed and structured and useful to scholars. Each chapter starts with an outlook on its main contents. In all chapters key concepts are discussed. At the end of every chapter, questions for review are given which sometimes draw the reader?s attention to some examples from the real world.? ? Frank Hartwich, Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture ?It is simply not possible to summarise the richness of this book. Each chapter ends with key questions to facilitate revision and an extensive bibliography will stimulate seminar papers. Kasper and Streit?s Institutional Economics has come along at a time when it is sorely needed for curriculum changes that are essential if economics is to flourish as a discipline so that an ample supply of economists is available to push forward economic development in all its aspects. The reasonably priced paperback edition should be leaping off bookstore shelves.? ? Helen Hughes, Economic Record ?Kasper and Streit have provided an authoritative survey of the present status of the field, and there are few students today who would not profit from a careful study of this text.? ? E.G. Furubotn, Journal of Economics/Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie ?. . . a path-breaking, systematic text that develops institutional theory from fundamental tenets about human nature and then applies it to contemporary economic analysis. This book will therefore allow teachers to introduce evolutionary and institutional economics without having to rely on dispersed and sometimes hard-to-access literature. . . . Institutional Economics presents an accessible introduction to one of the hottest areas of contemporary economic policy analysis and social philosophy . . . One does not have to be an economist to enjoy this important book. I recommend it most warmly to economists and noneconomists, to students and experienced old-timers alike.? ? Gerard Radnitzky, Cato Journal ?Kasper and Streit bring coherence to what can easily appear a sprawling and diverse literature. Though rigorous in the attention it gives to theoretical and philosophical foundations, the book succeeds in making clear at every turn the immense practical social and economic importance of the subject matter. Students should find their enthusiasm for economics rekindled by this stimulating book.? ? Martin Ricketts, University of Buckingham, UK ?. . . a work rich in its understanding of, and appreciation for, the institutional framework of modern economies.? ? R.B. Emmett, Choice ?Institutional economics has risen as a sort of sub-field in economics without most economists knowing ? or at least agreeing as to ? what it entails. At last, we have a clear and comprehensive text that defines and explicates this new ?hot subject?.? ? Dennis C. Mueller, Universität Wien, Austria ?A solid and much needed book, that is comprehensive in coverage, elementary in exposition, and relevant in applications. Modern institutional economics has, indeed ?come of age? when its central elements can be so coherently packaged. It now becomes possible to point inquiring potential readers to this book rather than to a whole subliterature.? ? James M. Buchanan, George Mason University, US ?The new institutionalism is a great improvement over the old. This book is a very well designed elementary text in the field that could be used in undergraduate courses, and in fact, any economist who is not up to the latest development in this area would find it worthwhile reading.? ? Gordon Tullock, George Mason University, US The discipline of institutional economics has gained increasing prominence in recent years, because standard economic explanations can often not come to grips with major contemporary policy issues, such as economic reform in affluent, but dysfunctional economies, the transformation of the failed socialist command economies and the governance problems of the new industrial economies. Institutional economists point out that rule systems matter greatly to explaining these problems and that institutional innovation is central to finding sustained solutions. Institutions must underpin increasingly complex webs of human interaction because interaction and coordination depend on tenuous links of trust. This major 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 issue from fundamental premises about human cognition and motivation. It includes policy-oriented discussions of: ? the logical basis of institutions and why institutions matter ? the institutional arrangements underpinning domestic markets and international exchange where human action is coordinated by private choice ? the institutional arrangements underpinning business organizations ? the functions of government and the relative merits of private and public choice, as well as solutions to controlling the opportunistic use of political power ? possible reforms in heavily regulated mature economies that have to meet the challenge from new competitors ? the reasons for the collapse of the socialist institutional system ? the influence of globalization on institutional development during the modernization process in third-world countries 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.Read More