Coordinators:
Paolo Ramazzotti (University of Macerata, Italy), ramazzotti@unimc.it
Wolfram Elsner (University of Bremen, Germany), welsner@uni-bremen.de
Institutional change is a broad theme and it is no wonder that regularly a great many papers presented at the EAEPE Conferences are related to it. It is also a topic that does not have a commonly accepted definition, which accounts for a great variety of the papers.
Differences relate to a range of issues. These are among the most important.
• The nature/definition of institutions, i.e. how institutions relate to concepts such as norms, rules, laws, conventions and organisations.
• The relation between institutions and the economy: do institutions complement a conceptually distinct economic system or do they determine the economy’s very nature? Is it possible and important to distinguish between economic and non-economic institutions? Must institutions comply with economic requirements or could it be that it is the economy that should meet some institutional requirements?
• The nature of institutional change: to what extent is it determined by purposeful action? Is the outcome intentional or unintentional? Is the process linear or cumulative?
• Who are the actors of change: are they individuals or collectives? Do they pursue sectional or general interests?
RA-C will organize sessions at the 2009 meetings that reflect and discuss these and other central issues concerning institutional change.
Contributions are welcome from different perspectives, in terms of the methodological and theoretical approaches followed (Original Institutionalist, Post-Keynesian, Marxist, Neo-Schumpeterian, Austrian, New Institutionalist, etc.), in terms of the type and methodology of inquiry carried out (historical, statistical, game-theoretical, system-dynamic, etc.) and in terms of disciplinary intersections (psychological, sociological, philosophical, etc.). The coordinators are particularly in favour of contributions that provide insights on the issues outlined above so as to enhance scientific dialogue within different strands of thought.
Please do not hesitate to contact one of the coordinators if you have any suggestions.