Institutional economics (Vorlesung) Mi. 9-11
The aim of this course is to provide an overview of the economic analysis of institutions. The course will cover a broad range of topics and not limit itself to a view of institutions as devices correcting market imperfections. Institutions are complex devices, embodying social and political compromises, framing individual and collective rationality and defining the constraints on exchanges and transactions. The course will also address the issue of comparative institutional analysis, over time and across countries.
The following topics will be addressed: definition and frontiers of markets and institutions; “old” and “new” institutionalism in economic theory; current institutional approaches (economics of convention; regulation approach…); theories of institutional change and dynamics of institutions; institutions and political economy.