INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS (EC3030)

The course will introduce students to the role of institutions in economic life, exploring the different institutional arrangements that sustain the workings of contemporary market societies. After discussing alternative definitions of economic institutions and their different types – formal and informal rules, norms, organizations, etc. – we will proceed to a survey of different approaches to the study of institutional economics. Students will be introduced to classic readings from the original American institutional movement, discussing the legal and cultural foundations of modern capitalism. We will then cover a selection of topics in New Institutional Economics, including transaction costs theory, rent seeking and collective action, and long-run economic performance. Throughout the course, students will be stimulated to reflect on how the adoption of an institutional perspective calls into question some of the basic premises of standard economic theory. They will also explore how the study of institutions can open the door to interdisciplinary engagements between economics and other social sciences.