Institutional Change and Economic Behaviour

This book explores institutional change and economic behaviour through examining the transition process in the eight former socialist countries that became members of the EU in 2004, looking at the phenomenal growth that has been taking place in China in the last three decades, offering a historical perspective on the causes of economic underdevelopment in the Middle East, and discussing just how much of the neo-classical paradigm is refuted by the evidence produced by experimental economics in recent years. In addition, a conceptual framework is proposed for analyzing mechanisms of institutional change,and an evolutionary model and agent-based model are developed.

János Kornai is President of the International Economic Association and is affiliated with the University of Budapest, Hungary. László Mátyás is with Central European University, Hungary. Gérard Roland is Professor of Economics and Political Science, University of California, Berkeley.