Institutional Economics And National Competitiveness

This book offers a strong contribution to the growing field of institutional economics, going beyond the question of why institutions matter and examines the ways in which different types of institutions are conducive to the enhancement of competitiveness and economic development. Adopting a variety of approaches, ranging from New Institutional Economics, Public Choice, Constitutional Political Economy and Austrian Economics, to more traditional economic approaches, contributors examine the important issues of interest to development economics. This book asks whether democracy is a pre-condition for economic development, what the proper role of government is in the age of globalization and whether successful government led policies were the cause of South Korea’s economic development. As well as these key questions, the book covers the issues of whether the government should rely on the market process to encourage economic development or must they interfere, and by what criteria one can judge a proposal for policies for economic prosperity. The book tries to make a contribution by introducing a variety of perspective, some argue in favour of industrial policies while others argue for a lesser role for the government and a greater entrepreneurial freedom. Some question the wisdom of promoting democracy as a necessary condition for economic development while others argue that political liberalization is the basis of lasting competitive edge of an economy. The book should be of great interest to students and researchers in need of a multi-perspective collection covering several approaches to the issues of institutional economics and national competition.

This book has much to commend it, because of the richness and diversity of the issues addressed. Indira Rajaraman, Tax Justice Focus The volume offers substantial insights into the nature of institutional competition, focusing mostly on governmental institutions, and shows the many subtleties in understanding and analyzing the role of institutions. Institutional competition is a small subset of institutional analysis, but an important one, and while the volume does cover the more familiar tax and expenditure topics, it also delves more deeply into the subject. Randall G. Holcombe, Public Choice While economists typically praise the merits of competition among market-based enterprises, they are not so sure when it comes to competition among institutions, especially governments. I am aware of no better source for thoughtful reflection on competition among institutions than the ten essays presented in this book. Richard E. Wagner, George Mason University, US Why is competition between institutions usually viewed in a negative light, when competition is considered positive in most other economic contexts? The contributors to this volume introduce new perspectives on this issue, analytically and empirically exploring reasons for this perception. Negative assessments of institutional competition emphasize that such competition may lead to a race to the bottom in terms of eroding government revenues, redistributing wealth from workers to capitalists, and limiting democracy by forcing politicians to prioritize international investment capital rather than working for their voters. In this volume, however, many of the essays draw attention to the positive learning and information effects. The contributors conclude that competition may actually lead to institutions becoming more efficient in allocating resources. Students and scholars of economics, political economy, international relations and political science will find the book s non-traditional take on institutional competition a must-read, as will policy analysts and those with an interest in taxation and welfare states.

The book offers a framework to investigate how countries reform and change their institutions to compete in the world economy. It examines how different actors in advanced industrialized countries engage in sensemaking processes to determine how to be competitive. Many cases are explored, covering different institutions linked to competitiveness.

This thoroughly revised, extended and updated edition of a critically acclaimed textbook provides an accessible and cohesive introduction to the burgeoning discipline of institutional economics. Requiring only a basic understanding of economics, this lucid and well-written text will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students wanting to understand the problems of the real world Ð such as entrepreneurship, innovation, the cost of the welfare state, international financial crises, and economic development. As institutional economics is now revolutionising policy making, the book can also serve as a guide to the pressing problems facing policy makers in mature and emergent countries alike. Key features include: ¥ A short ÔPrimerÕ at the beginning of each chapter to highlight the main issues and their relevance. ¥ Key Concepts such as ÔinstitutionsÕ, Ôeconomic orderÕ, Ôcoordination costsÕ, ÔcompetitionÕ and Ôpublic policyÕ are highlighted and clearly defined. ¥ International coverage is ensured as the three authors, experienced academic teachers, work in the US, Europe and the Asia Pacific.

The current paradigm shift in the world economy is challenging the traditional competitiveness and growth theories with their few explanatory variables. This book offers a more holistic framework to synthesise the key findings of the various branches of competitiveness and growth research. The author illustrates this framework with a new long wave theory of socio-economic development. This theory emphasises the competitiveness and growth benefits of rapid structural adjustment in the rapidly changing techno-economic environment. Based on thorough analysis the author argues that both markets and governments have become less efficient due to the current transformation of the world economy. His empirical data from 22 OECD countries in the 1980s and 1990s illustrates that efficiency and growth-oriented governments have significantly contributed to their countries' economic success. National Competitiveness and Economic Growth will furnish its readers with a better understanding of the interdependencies of many important but seemingly unrelated aspects of modern economies and societies, for example the dynamics of business and technology, and cultural and institutional change. It will appeal to economists, business professionals and policymakers with a special interest in the competitiveness and growth of firms and national economies as well as the long-term development of socio-economic systems.

This book is the outgrowth of the editors' conviction that there is a need for a current and comprehensive examination of international economic issues within the framework of institutional economics. The volume covers the most important international topics that institutional economists historically have addressed. We hope that our initiative and necessarily limited choice of subjects will encourage additional applications of institutional economic theory to the international economy. For other economists, the analyses contained in the volume's dozen chapters afford an opportunity to become more aware of the theoretical work and policy recommendations of institutional economists. It may be surprising that, to an extent, evolutionary and neoclassical thinking converge and even sometimes overlap on the matter of trends and problems of the international economy. A case in point is the increased attention both schools devote to the role of technology in shaping patterns of world trade and specialization. In the past few decades, global shifts in comparative advantages, the widespread adoption of more flexible exchange rate systems, and the remarkable shifts in institutional arrangements and policy regimes in the former Soviet Union and East Asia have compelled a reassessment of conventional static trade theories based on neoclassical assumptions. Links among trade, international investment, and the diffusion of economic growth are being more closely scrutinized and better understood. This volume is an effort to expand and stimulate this discourse on the economics of international relations, including global economic development.

"Institutional economics is a sociocultural discipline and policy science which draws on the idea that economies are best understood through an appreciation of history, real-world institutions, and socioeconomic interrelations. This book brings together leading institutionalists to examine the tradition's most essential perspectives and methods. The contributors to the book draw on a broad range of institutional thought from the classic work of Thorstein Veblen, John R. Commons, and Karl Polanyi, to the newer viewpoints of post-Keynesian institutionalism, feminist institutionalism, and environmental institutionalism. Methods range from frameworks used to analyze public policy and institutional change, to modes of analyses including myth busting, historically grounded narratives, and computer-based simulations. Each chapter surveys the origins, development, key features, applications, and frontiers of a particular viewpoint, framework, or mode of analysis. Due consideration is given to both strengths and weaknesses; and woven into the chapters is attention to core institutionalist concepts, including technology, institutions, culture, and complexity. The book provides economists with promising starting points for new research, students with contributions refreshingly in touch with the real world, and policymakers and social scientists with compelling reasons for engaging further with the institutionalist tradition. Charles J. Whalen is Research Fellow at the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, University at Buffalo, USA. For over three decades he has contributed to institutional economics, national economic policy discussions, equitable regional development, and worker engagement in business decision-making. This is his fifth book"--

Climate change, financial crises, and other issues of global scale no longer concern only the developed world. The binding power of globalization has placed these challenges at the doorstep of almost every country, testing the evolutionary capacity of monolithic governance systems bound by institutional legacy and administrative stagnation. This book locates the concept of adaptive governance, used primarily in environmental management, within the context of economic policy. Introducing flexible economic opportunism, it argues that a particular style of institutional and administrative versatility enables innovative, evidence-based policy development. This book mines institutional economics, public administration, and research theory and practice for complementary elements that can inform an emerging governance paradigm based on flexible economic opportunism. Through an eclectic suite of cases from the developing and developed worlds including Asia and North America, this book reveals how patterns of institutional and administrative change impact the efficacy of public policy. Flexibility may be this century’s most critical dimension of global competitiveness, and systems configured to quickly and comprehensively capture economic opportunities will win the marketplace of development ideas. This book advances that discussion.