This book offers a comprehensive assessment of Douglass North’s contribution to economics and the social sciences by examining the origins and structure of his New Institutionalist Economic History (NIEH). Informed by contemporary debates in the philosophy of economics, Krul describes the evolution of North’s theory from mainstream economics to an increasingly heterodox form of New Institutionalism. He also examines what North's original aims were in developing the NIEH research programme and how well it has achieved these aims. By exploring major themes in North's NIEH, with an emphasis on the final stage of his theory, Krul sheds new light on the strengths and weaknesses of North's work. He also discusses the implications of this critical interpretation for the New Institutionalism in economics and other fields of social science.
Author(s): Matthijs Krul
Series: Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought
Edition: 1st
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 271
City: Cham
Front Matter ....Pages i-xvi
Introduction: Douglass North’s NIEH in Context (Matthijs Krul)....Pages 1-29
North’s NIEH in Historical Overview (Matthijs Krul)....Pages 31-68
Markets, the Social Contract, and the ‘Smithian Result’ (Matthijs Krul)....Pages 69-99
Players of the Game: Rationality, Choice, and Indeterminacy (Matthijs Krul)....Pages 101-136
North’s Theory of Cultural Evolution (Matthijs Krul)....Pages 137-193
North’s NIEH as Global History (Matthijs Krul)....Pages 195-219
Revisiting Polanyi’s Challenge: North and the Limits of the New Institutionalism (Matthijs Krul)....Pages 221-243
Conclusion: The Future of the Neoinstitutionalist Turn (Matthijs Krul)....Pages 245-250
Back Matter ....Pages 251-260
