New Institutional Economics as Situational Logic

ISBN-13: 9781138790384 / Angielski / Twarda / 2023 / 336 str.

Piet De Vries

Opis

New Institutional Economics is increasingly involved in questioning the basic assumptions of economic theory but rather than being a homogenous field it encompasses a particularly broad domain of theories which vary in approach, research object, and methodology. In particular the concept of rationality is a rich source of dispute. In fact, the history of New Institutional Economics presents a bifurcation between on the one hand approaches which are reminiscent of the old Institutional Economics, and on the other hand, types of NIE theories which opt for analytical strength by limiting the theoretical variables. This bifurcation generates a host of methodological issues. For instance, what is the analytical consequence of assuming bounded rationality? What is a theorist's ambition in explaining reality? Adjacent to the methodological issues, the variety of New Institutional Economics approaches raises epistemological issues, in particular about the nature of social reality. In this respect, the application of a phenomenological view of social reality and social sciences offers promising insights regarding the theoretical evolution of New Institutional Economics. This book offers a methodological-epistemological treatise arguing for the positioning of New Institutional Economics as situational logic; i.e., an economic theory which formulates and studies single-exit situations which face the economic actor. This point of view underlines the attractiveness of the analytical strength of economic theory, simultaneously paying attention to human beings' institutional reality. Ultimately, this book presents a critical appraisal of New Institutional Economics theories based on a substantiated methodological perspective that effectively navigates the theorist between realism and rigor.

Recenzje

"There are relatively few discussions of the philosophical foundations of the new institutional economics (NIE). This book helps to fill a big gap. It ties the NIE theoretical underpinnings to Karl Popper’s notion of situational logic. With this innovative approach, Ronald Coase and Frank Knight come out as key figures in the foundation and development of the NIE, more so than Douglass North and Oliver Williamson. Henceforth, work in the NIE tradition will have to come to terms with Piet de Vries’s pioneering interpretation."

Geoffrey M. Hodgson

Emeritus Professor, Loughborough University London.

Spis treści

Chapter 1 Economics as analysis of meaning   Chapter 2 Phenomenology and the analysis of meaning   Chapter 3 Scope and method of economics   Chapter 4 Frank H. Knight; pioneer in NIE   Chapter 5 On Coase   Chapter 6 Theory of the Firm   Chapter 7 Market and government

O autorze

Piet de Vries is a former senior researcher and assistant professor at the University of Twente and a lecturer at the Twente School of Management, Enschede, the Netherlands.