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Transitions to Open Access Orders and Polycentricity: Exploring the Interface between Austrian Theory and Institutionalism

In: New Thinking in Austrian Political Economy

Author

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  • Ion Sterpan
  • Paul Dragos Aligica

Abstract

This paper explores the interface between institutional theory and Austrian theory. We examine mainstream institutionalism as exemplified by D. C. North in his work with Wallis and Weingast on the elite compact theory of social order and of transitions to impersonal rights, and propose instead an Austrian process-oriented perspective. We argue that mainstream institutionalism does not fully account for the efficiency of impersonal rules. Their efficiency can be better explained by a market for rules, which in turn requires a stable plurality of governance providers. Since an equilibrium of plural providers requires stable power polycentricity, the implication goes against consolidating organized means for violence as a doorstep condition to successful transitions. The paper demonstrates how to employ Ostroms’ Bloomington School Institutionalism to shift, convert, and recalibrate mainstream institutionalism's themes into an Austrian process-oriented theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Ion Sterpan & Paul Dragos Aligica, 2015. "Transitions to Open Access Orders and Polycentricity: Exploring the Interface between Austrian Theory and Institutionalism," Advances in Austrian Economics, in: New Thinking in Austrian Political Economy, volume 19, pages 145-166, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaeczz:s1529-213420150000019008
    DOI: 10.1108/S1529-213420150000019008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Acemoglu,Daron & Robinson,James A., 2009. "Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521671422, January.
    2. Douglass C. North, 2005. "Introduction to Understanding the Process of Economic Change," Introductory Chapters, in: Understanding the Process of Economic Change, Princeton University Press.
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    4. North,Douglass C. & Wallis,John Joseph & Weingast,Barry R., 2013. "Violence and Social Orders," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107646995, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Institutionalism; market process; polycentricity; open access orders; impersonal exchange; B52; B53; D72; D74;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Modern Monetary Theory;
    • B53 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Austrian
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions

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