The Cognitive Mechanics of Economic Development and Institutional Change

Allowing individuals and firms to specialize accelerates the pace of learning and leads to increased levels of knowledge across the board. However, for this to be truly effective, better communication is needed. Institutions are a serious aid to this process. This book seeks to explain long-term economic development and institutional change in terms of the cognitive features of human learning and communication processes. Martens links individual cognitive processes to macroeconomic growth theories, including economies of scale and scope, and to theories of institutional development based on asymmetric information in production processes and economies of scale in enforcement technology. With considerable flair, Bertin Martens has applied the hot new area of psychological and behavioral economics to notions of growth and development and has created a unique and impressive volume.