Syllabus
1. Introduction2. Old institutionalism, emergence of the institutional tradition, method of analysis3. Property rights theory, transaction costs4. Contracts, agency costs, information costs5. What are institutions? Types of institutions6. Institutions as collective choices, conceptions of the state7. Social conflict view of institutions (rent seeking)8. Institutions and economic performance9. Norms, culture, social conventions10. Institutional change, path dependence11. Theory of the firm
Annotation
This course presents wide-ranging and growing literature on the economics of institutions (and organizations), with an emphasis on applications and evidence. We begin with the methods and fundamental concepts upon which the new institutional economics builds.
Then we turn to a study of the institutional environment, the constraints that guide individuals' behavior. We investigate how institutions change and how are they shaped by the individuals and firms themselves.