Pranab Bardhan and Christopher Udry
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198773719
- eISBN:
- 9780191595929
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198773714.003.0017
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter looks at the institutions that are pertinent to economic development and at the institutional impediments to growth, drawing on several strands of the literature on organizational ...
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This chapter looks at the institutions that are pertinent to economic development and at the institutional impediments to growth, drawing on several strands of the literature on organizational behaviour, including the New Institutional Economics. It begins with a discussion on informal mercantile institutions of trust, commitment, and enforcement, and then examines the strategic distributive conflicts behind institutional change. Next, it discusses the role of the state in building institutions, acknowledging the facts that there are states both strong and ‘soft’, and that the ‘soft budget constraint’ of the state gives rise to a credibility problem. An analysis of desirable state intervention—that which deals with market failures such as externalities and with coordination failures—and of distortional intervention involving rent‐seeking and corruption follows. This positive analysis of policy making includes a principal‐agent model in which the state acts like a Stackleberg leader.Less
This chapter looks at the institutions that are pertinent to economic development and at the institutional impediments to growth, drawing on several strands of the literature on organizational behaviour, including the New Institutional Economics. It begins with a discussion on informal mercantile institutions of trust, commitment, and enforcement, and then examines the strategic distributive conflicts behind institutional change. Next, it discusses the role of the state in building institutions, acknowledging the facts that there are states both strong and ‘soft’, and that the ‘soft budget constraint’ of the state gives rise to a credibility problem. An analysis of desirable state intervention—that which deals with market failures such as externalities and with coordination failures—and of distortional intervention involving rent‐seeking and corruption follows. This positive analysis of policy making includes a principal‐agent model in which the state acts like a Stackleberg leader.
Alain Bresson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197265062
- eISBN:
- 9780191754173
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265062.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
After initial comments on the role of Greek inscriptions as ‘archives’, this chapter reviews the drastic changes that have occurred since Finley's book of 1973 in the picture of the ancient economy, ...
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After initial comments on the role of Greek inscriptions as ‘archives’, this chapter reviews the drastic changes that have occurred since Finley's book of 1973 in the picture of the ancient economy, both by acknowledging development and growth, and by adopting new concepts, not least New Institutional Economics with its emphasis on transaction costs. The methodological impact of such new approaches is sketched in four fields, each of which is illustrated with epigraphic documentation: (1) production and growth, instancing technological advance, land exploitation and textile production; (2) finance, taxes, trade and prices, with emphasis on the need and opportunities for quantification; (3) money and coinage; and (4) the transformation of uncertainty into an assessment of risk, illustrated in respect of farming practices and recourse to consultation of oracles and curse-tablets.Less
After initial comments on the role of Greek inscriptions as ‘archives’, this chapter reviews the drastic changes that have occurred since Finley's book of 1973 in the picture of the ancient economy, both by acknowledging development and growth, and by adopting new concepts, not least New Institutional Economics with its emphasis on transaction costs. The methodological impact of such new approaches is sketched in four fields, each of which is illustrated with epigraphic documentation: (1) production and growth, instancing technological advance, land exploitation and textile production; (2) finance, taxes, trade and prices, with emphasis on the need and opportunities for quantification; (3) money and coinage; and (4) the transformation of uncertainty into an assessment of risk, illustrated in respect of farming practices and recourse to consultation of oracles and curse-tablets.
Hazel Gray
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198714644
- eISBN:
- 9780191782909
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198714644.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Economic Systems
This chapter evaluates new institutional economic theory and its approach to explaining economic transformation and political order. It explains the key assumptions of the ‘old’ New Institutional ...
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This chapter evaluates new institutional economic theory and its approach to explaining economic transformation and political order. It explains the key assumptions of the ‘old’ New Institutional Economics, associated with the work of Douglass North prior to 2009. It then sets out the more recent developments within New Institutional Economics that engages more explicitly with power, in the work of Acemoglu, Robinson and North et al. The chapter evaluates the extent to which these theories can help explain Tanzania and Vietnam’s experiences of political reform and economic change over the era of high growth. The chapter argues that while the ‘new’-New Institutional Economics of development correctly identifies the importance of power in explaining economic transformation, these theories remained tied to a number of restrictive neoclassical assumptions that limits the extent to which they can illuminate processes of contemporary economic change.Less
This chapter evaluates new institutional economic theory and its approach to explaining economic transformation and political order. It explains the key assumptions of the ‘old’ New Institutional Economics, associated with the work of Douglass North prior to 2009. It then sets out the more recent developments within New Institutional Economics that engages more explicitly with power, in the work of Acemoglu, Robinson and North et al. The chapter evaluates the extent to which these theories can help explain Tanzania and Vietnam’s experiences of political reform and economic change over the era of high growth. The chapter argues that while the ‘new’-New Institutional Economics of development correctly identifies the importance of power in explaining economic transformation, these theories remained tied to a number of restrictive neoclassical assumptions that limits the extent to which they can illuminate processes of contemporary economic change.
Masooda Bano
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450440
- eISBN:
- 9780801463860
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450440.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Islamic schools, or madrasas, have been accused of radicalizing Muslims and participating, either actively or passively, in terrorist networks since the events of 9/11. In Pakistan, the 2007 siege by ...
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Islamic schools, or madrasas, have been accused of radicalizing Muslims and participating, either actively or passively, in terrorist networks since the events of 9/11. In Pakistan, the 2007 siege by government forces of Islamabad's Red Mosque and its madrasa complex, whose imam and students staged an armed resistance against the state for its support of the “war on terror,” reinforced concerns about madrasas' role in regional and global jihad. By 2006 madrasas registered with Pakistan's five regulatory boards for religious schools enrolled over one million male and 200,000 female students. This book explores the network of Pakistani madrasas. It maps the choices and decisions confronted by students, teachers, parents, and clerics and explains why available choices make participation in jihad appear at times a viable course of action. The book shows that beliefs are rational and that religious believers look to maximize utility in ways not captured by classical rational choice. The book applies analytical tools from the New Institutional Economics to explain apparent contradictions in the madrasa system—for example, how thousands of young Pakistani women now demand the national adoption of traditional sharia law, despite its highly restrictive limits on female agency, and do so from their location in Islamic schools for girls that were founded only a generation ago.Less
Islamic schools, or madrasas, have been accused of radicalizing Muslims and participating, either actively or passively, in terrorist networks since the events of 9/11. In Pakistan, the 2007 siege by government forces of Islamabad's Red Mosque and its madrasa complex, whose imam and students staged an armed resistance against the state for its support of the “war on terror,” reinforced concerns about madrasas' role in regional and global jihad. By 2006 madrasas registered with Pakistan's five regulatory boards for religious schools enrolled over one million male and 200,000 female students. This book explores the network of Pakistani madrasas. It maps the choices and decisions confronted by students, teachers, parents, and clerics and explains why available choices make participation in jihad appear at times a viable course of action. The book shows that beliefs are rational and that religious believers look to maximize utility in ways not captured by classical rational choice. The book applies analytical tools from the New Institutional Economics to explain apparent contradictions in the madrasa system—for example, how thousands of young Pakistani women now demand the national adoption of traditional sharia law, despite its highly restrictive limits on female agency, and do so from their location in Islamic schools for girls that were founded only a generation ago.
David Lewis
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474421775
- eISBN:
- 9781474449519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474421775.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter analyses the motivations of economic actors in classical Athens from the point of view of modern behavioural economics. The (now) old orthodoxy of M.I. Finley, drawing on Bücher and ...
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This chapter analyses the motivations of economic actors in classical Athens from the point of view of modern behavioural economics. The (now) old orthodoxy of M.I. Finley, drawing on Bücher and Weber, stressed that the so‐ called homo economicus did not exist until recent times: in antiquity, an anti‐productive mentality was essentially hard‐wired into the minds of elite Greeks and Romans, preventing economic development. This approach has been widely rejected in recent years, and in particular the methods of New Institutional Economics (NIE) have provided a way around the moribund formalist‐primitivist debate. Yet whilst NIE has provided a set of important analytical tools, it would be an exaggeration to claim that these tools can solve every problem relating to economic activity in antiquity; here, the insights of behavioural economics can assist us in understanding economic activity in past societies.Less
This chapter analyses the motivations of economic actors in classical Athens from the point of view of modern behavioural economics. The (now) old orthodoxy of M.I. Finley, drawing on Bücher and Weber, stressed that the so‐ called homo economicus did not exist until recent times: in antiquity, an anti‐productive mentality was essentially hard‐wired into the minds of elite Greeks and Romans, preventing economic development. This approach has been widely rejected in recent years, and in particular the methods of New Institutional Economics (NIE) have provided a way around the moribund formalist‐primitivist debate. Yet whilst NIE has provided a set of important analytical tools, it would be an exaggeration to claim that these tools can solve every problem relating to economic activity in antiquity; here, the insights of behavioural economics can assist us in understanding economic activity in past societies.
Emily Mackil
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781474421775
- eISBN:
- 9781474449519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474421775.003.0012
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE
Scholars working in the New Institutional Economics take it as axiomatic that economic growth cannot happen without secure property rights. In his magisterial survey of the economy of the Greek ...
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Scholars working in the New Institutional Economics take it as axiomatic that economic growth cannot happen without secure property rights. In his magisterial survey of the economy of the Greek cities, Alain Bresson has followed suit in asserting that security of property was a precondition for the development of market exchange, fuelling the growth that the Greek world so evidently experienced over the course of the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. Yet careful consideration suggests that property in ancient Greece was comparatively insecure. This chapter explores the ways in which individuals could and did lose their property and asks how we are to understand the phenomenon of widespread economic growth in this light.Less
Scholars working in the New Institutional Economics take it as axiomatic that economic growth cannot happen without secure property rights. In his magisterial survey of the economy of the Greek cities, Alain Bresson has followed suit in asserting that security of property was a precondition for the development of market exchange, fuelling the growth that the Greek world so evidently experienced over the course of the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. Yet careful consideration suggests that property in ancient Greece was comparatively insecure. This chapter explores the ways in which individuals could and did lose their property and asks how we are to understand the phenomenon of widespread economic growth in this light.
Alain Bresson
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691183411
- eISBN:
- 9781400852451
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691183411.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter describes the conceptual framework used by the book to study the economy of ancient Greece. It begins with a discussion of the debate between “primitivists,” represented by Karl Bücher, ...
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This chapter describes the conceptual framework used by the book to study the economy of ancient Greece. It begins with a discussion of the debate between “primitivists,” represented by Karl Bücher, and “modernists,” represented by Eduard Meyer, over the nature of the ancient Greek economy. It considers Bücher's adherence to the so-called German Historical School of Political Economy and goes on to examine the views of Moses I. Finley and Max Weber regarding the ancient economy, Karl Polanyi's use of institutionalism as an approach to the study of the ancient economy, and the main assumptions of New Institutional Economics (NIE) with regard to the genesis and evolution of institutions. The chapter also analyzes the transaction costs theory and concludes with an assessment of criticisms against the classical economists' economic agent, the homo economicus, and the influence of constrained choices and limited rationality on economic performance.Less
This chapter describes the conceptual framework used by the book to study the economy of ancient Greece. It begins with a discussion of the debate between “primitivists,” represented by Karl Bücher, and “modernists,” represented by Eduard Meyer, over the nature of the ancient Greek economy. It considers Bücher's adherence to the so-called German Historical School of Political Economy and goes on to examine the views of Moses I. Finley and Max Weber regarding the ancient economy, Karl Polanyi's use of institutionalism as an approach to the study of the ancient economy, and the main assumptions of New Institutional Economics (NIE) with regard to the genesis and evolution of institutions. The chapter also analyzes the transaction costs theory and concludes with an assessment of criticisms against the classical economists' economic agent, the homo economicus, and the influence of constrained choices and limited rationality on economic performance.
Masooda Bano
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450440
- eISBN:
- 9780801463860
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450440.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter summarizes the core arguments around the working of madrasas and Islam in Pakistan, and notes the relevance of these findings for deepening our understanding of informal institutions in ...
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This chapter summarizes the core arguments around the working of madrasas and Islam in Pakistan, and notes the relevance of these findings for deepening our understanding of informal institutions in general. It demonstrates their particular significance for students of both theory and practice of international development. Drawing on empirical evidence on the workings of Islam, as represented through the choices and decisions of actors within the madrasas of Pakistan, this book provides an understanding of the workings of informal institutions and thus demonstrates the strength of the New Institutional Economics (NIE) analytical framework in explaining a noneconomic institution. In the process, it shows the adjustments that need to be made to the core assumptions of the classical rational choice theory if this is to act as a unifying framework across the social sciences.Less
This chapter summarizes the core arguments around the working of madrasas and Islam in Pakistan, and notes the relevance of these findings for deepening our understanding of informal institutions in general. It demonstrates their particular significance for students of both theory and practice of international development. Drawing on empirical evidence on the workings of Islam, as represented through the choices and decisions of actors within the madrasas of Pakistan, this book provides an understanding of the workings of informal institutions and thus demonstrates the strength of the New Institutional Economics (NIE) analytical framework in explaining a noneconomic institution. In the process, it shows the adjustments that need to be made to the core assumptions of the classical rational choice theory if this is to act as a unifying framework across the social sciences.
Alexander Betts, Louise Bloom, Josiah Kaplan, and Josiah Naohiko
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- December 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198795681
- eISBN:
- 9780191836985
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198795681.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This chapter sets out the conceptual framework for the book. A review of existing literature on the economic lives of refugees reveals that few economists have worked on refugees and forced ...
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This chapter sets out the conceptual framework for the book. A review of existing literature on the economic lives of refugees reveals that few economists have worked on refugees and forced displacement. Despite pioneering interdisciplinary research on refugees’ economic lives, there remains a lack of theory and data to explain variation in economic outcomes for refugees. To fill this gap, the chapter elaborates the concept of ‘refugee economies’, i.e. resource allocation systems relating to the lives of refugees. Drawing upon New Institutional Economics, it argues that while refugees are not necessarily distinctive as people, what distinguishes them in an economic sense is the institutional context of ‘being a refugee’, which leads to a different set of economic constraints and opportunities compared to citizens or other migrants. The chapter suggests what these institutional differences are and how this conceptual framework plays out in the context of the Uganda research that follows.Less
This chapter sets out the conceptual framework for the book. A review of existing literature on the economic lives of refugees reveals that few economists have worked on refugees and forced displacement. Despite pioneering interdisciplinary research on refugees’ economic lives, there remains a lack of theory and data to explain variation in economic outcomes for refugees. To fill this gap, the chapter elaborates the concept of ‘refugee economies’, i.e. resource allocation systems relating to the lives of refugees. Drawing upon New Institutional Economics, it argues that while refugees are not necessarily distinctive as people, what distinguishes them in an economic sense is the institutional context of ‘being a refugee’, which leads to a different set of economic constraints and opportunities compared to citizens or other migrants. The chapter suggests what these institutional differences are and how this conceptual framework plays out in the context of the Uganda research that follows.
Jeremy Baskes
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780804785426
- eISBN:
- 9780804786355
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804785426.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
Early modern, long-distance trade was fraught with risk and uncertainty, driving merchants to seek means to reduce them. In the traditional historiography on Spanish colonial trade, the role of risk ...
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Early modern, long-distance trade was fraught with risk and uncertainty, driving merchants to seek means to reduce them. In the traditional historiography on Spanish colonial trade, the role of risk is largely ignored. Instead, the guild (consulado) merchants are depicted as anti-competitive monopolists who manipulated markets and exploited colonial consumers. This book argues that much of the commercial behavior interpreted by modern historians as predatory was instead designed to reduce the uncertainty and risk of Atlantic world trade. It examines the development and use of maritime insurance in eighteenth-century Spain; the commercial strategies of Spanish merchants; the traditionally misunderstood effects of the 1778 promulgation of “comercio libre,” especially the financial chaos and bankruptcies that ensued; and other important topics. By elevating risk to the center of focus, this study makes a number of revisionist contributions to the late colonial economic history of the Spanish empire.Less
Early modern, long-distance trade was fraught with risk and uncertainty, driving merchants to seek means to reduce them. In the traditional historiography on Spanish colonial trade, the role of risk is largely ignored. Instead, the guild (consulado) merchants are depicted as anti-competitive monopolists who manipulated markets and exploited colonial consumers. This book argues that much of the commercial behavior interpreted by modern historians as predatory was instead designed to reduce the uncertainty and risk of Atlantic world trade. It examines the development and use of maritime insurance in eighteenth-century Spain; the commercial strategies of Spanish merchants; the traditionally misunderstood effects of the 1778 promulgation of “comercio libre,” especially the financial chaos and bankruptcies that ensued; and other important topics. By elevating risk to the center of focus, this study makes a number of revisionist contributions to the late colonial economic history of the Spanish empire.
Zosia Halina Archibald
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199682119
- eISBN:
- 9780191762727
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199682119.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
This chapter explores the methodological and theoretical underpinnings of the discourse on ancient economies, and seeks to apply recent models and concepts to the north Aegean area. Twentieth-century ...
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This chapter explores the methodological and theoretical underpinnings of the discourse on ancient economies, and seeks to apply recent models and concepts to the north Aegean area. Twentieth-century historians of antiquity have followed their nineteenth-century forebears in emphasizing the close connection between the social and the economic. The connection is explored in terms of market relations, focusing particularly on the demand for markets, whether among Xenophon's ‘Cyrean’ mercenaries, trying to get across north-west Asia Minor and serving in south-eastern Thrace; or in terms of the regulations for selling or purchasing slaves and pack animals at Abdera. The demand for particular commodities was driven by social expectations which, in the northern Aegean, were led by the high-ranking followers and associates of the ruling dynasties. Evidence within the north Aegean region suggests a different set of social emphases from the impressions given by Athenian drama and forensic oratory.Less
This chapter explores the methodological and theoretical underpinnings of the discourse on ancient economies, and seeks to apply recent models and concepts to the north Aegean area. Twentieth-century historians of antiquity have followed their nineteenth-century forebears in emphasizing the close connection between the social and the economic. The connection is explored in terms of market relations, focusing particularly on the demand for markets, whether among Xenophon's ‘Cyrean’ mercenaries, trying to get across north-west Asia Minor and serving in south-eastern Thrace; or in terms of the regulations for selling or purchasing slaves and pack animals at Abdera. The demand for particular commodities was driven by social expectations which, in the northern Aegean, were led by the high-ranking followers and associates of the ruling dynasties. Evidence within the north Aegean region suggests a different set of social emphases from the impressions given by Athenian drama and forensic oratory.
Mark Kanazawa
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226258676
- eISBN:
- 9780226258706
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226258706.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
Chapter 1 provides the basic motivation for the book, which is to understand the origins of California water law and the development and use of water as a central part of how gold mining is done. It ...
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Chapter 1 provides the basic motivation for the book, which is to understand the origins of California water law and the development and use of water as a central part of how gold mining is done. It begins by describing the state of present scholarly understanding of these origins, as well as the gap in our understanding. It goes on to outline the basic theoretical approach taken, which is to apply a number of notions of the determinants of institutional change taken from the New Institutional Economics. Finally, it describes a number of scholarly threads in Gold Rush historiography, focusing mostly on work done by economic historians on Gold Rush institutions, and it describes the contribution of the research to this literature.Less
Chapter 1 provides the basic motivation for the book, which is to understand the origins of California water law and the development and use of water as a central part of how gold mining is done. It begins by describing the state of present scholarly understanding of these origins, as well as the gap in our understanding. It goes on to outline the basic theoretical approach taken, which is to apply a number of notions of the determinants of institutional change taken from the New Institutional Economics. Finally, it describes a number of scholarly threads in Gold Rush historiography, focusing mostly on work done by economic historians on Gold Rush institutions, and it describes the contribution of the research to this literature.
Saskia T. Roselaar
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- October 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198829447
- eISBN:
- 9780191867965
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198829447.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter sets out the main issues discussed in this book regarding the position of the Italians in the Republican period. It summarizes earlier scholarly views on integration and identity and ...
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This chapter sets out the main issues discussed in this book regarding the position of the Italians in the Republican period. It summarizes earlier scholarly views on integration and identity and presents the most recent theories regarding these concepts. In doing so, it reviews earlier literature on the much-debated issue of Romanization. It also introduces economic theories that will be applied in the book, such as New Institutional Economics. Furthermore, the chapter gives a basic overview of the various legal statuses that existed in Republican Italy. Finally, this chapter gives an introduction into the sources and methodology used in this study.Less
This chapter sets out the main issues discussed in this book regarding the position of the Italians in the Republican period. It summarizes earlier scholarly views on integration and identity and presents the most recent theories regarding these concepts. In doing so, it reviews earlier literature on the much-debated issue of Romanization. It also introduces economic theories that will be applied in the book, such as New Institutional Economics. Furthermore, the chapter gives a basic overview of the various legal statuses that existed in Republican Italy. Finally, this chapter gives an introduction into the sources and methodology used in this study.
Arjan Zuiderhoek
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198728924
- eISBN:
- 9780191795831
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198728924.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical, World History: BCE to 500CE
This introductory chapter outlines the book’s theme and the main questions that will be addressed. It discusses the merits and drawbacks of the various theoretical approaches that have been applied ...
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This introductory chapter outlines the book’s theme and the main questions that will be addressed. It discusses the merits and drawbacks of the various theoretical approaches that have been applied to the analysis of land and natural resources in the Roman economy until now—market-models, substantivist analysis, and population-resources modelling. It concludes with an argument in favour of a New Institutional Economics (NIE) approach.Less
This introductory chapter outlines the book’s theme and the main questions that will be addressed. It discusses the merits and drawbacks of the various theoretical approaches that have been applied to the analysis of land and natural resources in the Roman economy until now—market-models, substantivist analysis, and population-resources modelling. It concludes with an argument in favour of a New Institutional Economics (NIE) approach.
Christine Léon de Mariz, Claude Ménard, and Bernard Abeillé
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198714910
- eISBN:
- 9780191783098
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198714910.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Institutional reforms and their contribution to development and growth have been the subject of numerous studies and the source of many challenges in the scientific literature and among policymakers. ...
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Institutional reforms and their contribution to development and growth have been the subject of numerous studies and the source of many challenges in the scientific literature and among policymakers. Endorsing an economic perspective, this book addresses the controversial issues at stake through the experience of the public procurement reforms carried out in sub-Saharan Africa since the late 1990s. Using an original dataset, this book explores the gap between the expectations and the accomplishment achieved in that difficult process. The analysis focuses on three aspects. First, the book outlines the conditions and forces leading to institutional change. It then develops a framework based mainly on new institutional economics to assess and discuss why the progress towards modernizing procurement systems has been so limited. Last, it examines the organizational arrangements that play a central role in the success or failures of these reforms.Less
Institutional reforms and their contribution to development and growth have been the subject of numerous studies and the source of many challenges in the scientific literature and among policymakers. Endorsing an economic perspective, this book addresses the controversial issues at stake through the experience of the public procurement reforms carried out in sub-Saharan Africa since the late 1990s. Using an original dataset, this book explores the gap between the expectations and the accomplishment achieved in that difficult process. The analysis focuses on three aspects. First, the book outlines the conditions and forces leading to institutional change. It then develops a framework based mainly on new institutional economics to assess and discuss why the progress towards modernizing procurement systems has been so limited. Last, it examines the organizational arrangements that play a central role in the success or failures of these reforms.
Paul Erdkamp, Koenraad Verboven, and Arjan Zuiderhoek
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198728924
- eISBN:
- 9780191795831
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198728924.003.0018
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical, World History: BCE to 500CE
This book has dealt with the exploitation and management of land and natural resources in the Roman economy, with the aim of investigating whether or not Roman strategies of land and resource ...
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This book has dealt with the exploitation and management of land and natural resources in the Roman economy, with the aim of investigating whether or not Roman strategies of land and resource exploitation were conducive to economic growth. Despite the recent surge of interest in Roman economic history, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the exploitation of land and natural resources. Drawing inspiration from insights developed within the field of NIE, the book has asked whether or not Roman institutions made possible forms of land and resource exploitation that would result in increased productivity and growth over time. The chapters have considered issues such as ownership, (legal) control, and the (organizational framework for) exploitation and processing of vital resources and raw materials such as agricultural land, livestock, water, precious metals, salt, stone, and others, throughout the Mediterranean region and beyond during Roman, late Roman, and immediately post-Roman times.Less
This book has dealt with the exploitation and management of land and natural resources in the Roman economy, with the aim of investigating whether or not Roman strategies of land and resource exploitation were conducive to economic growth. Despite the recent surge of interest in Roman economic history, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the exploitation of land and natural resources. Drawing inspiration from insights developed within the field of NIE, the book has asked whether or not Roman institutions made possible forms of land and resource exploitation that would result in increased productivity and growth over time. The chapters have considered issues such as ownership, (legal) control, and the (organizational framework for) exploitation and processing of vital resources and raw materials such as agricultural land, livestock, water, precious metals, salt, stone, and others, throughout the Mediterranean region and beyond during Roman, late Roman, and immediately post-Roman times.