Institutional Economics: Introduction, An

Description: This wide-ranging and highly accessible introduction presents both the key theories of Original Institutional Economics and New Institutional Economics in a balanced and intuitive way, reserving technical discussions mainly for appendices. The authors have assumed only minimal, principles-level, knowledge of economics on the part of the reader, making the text ideally suited for use as core reading in undergraduate courses as well as in graduate courses where the backgrounds of students are diverse. Table of Contents: PART I: INTRODUCTION What is Institutional Economics about? PART II: THEORY Theoretical Framework Static Approaches to Institutions The Dynamics of Institutions PART III: PRIVATE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES Markets Firms Cooperations Between Firms PART IV: PUBLIC GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES State Intervention to Protect the Public Interest Government Failures Author Biography: JOHN GROENEWEGEN is Professor of Economics of Infrastructures at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, and research fellow of the Tinbergen Institute (TI) of the Rotterdam School of Economics. His research interests are in economic organization and the relation between institutions and technology. ANTOON SPITHOVEN is Assistant Professor at the Utrecht University School of Economics, The Netherlands, where he is a member of the chair Institutional economics. His current research interests center on issues of aging of population and health care. ANNETTE VAN DEN BERG is Assistant Professor at the Utrecht University School of Economics, The Netherlands where she is a member of the chair Institutional economics. Her main research interests concern corporate governance issues, notably the role of worker participation