Institutions, Games and Economic Theory

The Hidden Persuaders : Institutions and Individuals in Economic Theory

In his classic book The Hidden Persuaders, Vance Packard claimed that large corporations manipulated consumers, using advertising techniques. John Kenneth Galbraith and others have repeated a similar view. Against this, Gary Becker and George Stigler have claimed that advertising is essentially informative rather than manipulative. In contrast, it is argued here that both of these opposed accou...

Fieldwork, Economic Theory and Research on Institutions in Developing Countries

Development economics has been the beneÞciary of a rich tradition of Þeld research. Within this broad tradition there is a huge variety of methods, from short qualitative studies to large-scale surveys. In this note, however, I focus on one point in this broad space of research methodologies iterative Þeld research in which the collection of data through surveys is combined with detailed observ...

Institutions and Economic Development : The Role of Collective Action Theory

How frequently in recommending changes one confronts the retort that such suggestions of change are of no use since "the powers that be" cannot he budged, i.e., the existing system is too entrenched to permit change. Such pessimism about the prospects for change is especially common in developing countries. The purpose of the present paper is to explore the possibilities of drawing on the theor...

Institutions and Economic Performance

Those who analyze political institutions often employ broad labels. They refer to democracy or authoritarianism; presidential or parliamentary governments; or to systems of plurality or proportional representation. In this paper, I refrain from addressing politics at this level and adopt an approach that is far more micro-in perspective. The approach I take can be referred to as " neo-classical...

Entrepreneurship and the Institutions of Growth: Toward a Theory of Economic Institutions