Analyzing the Deep Determinants of Institutions: Methodological Choices and Challenges

This chapter discusses the literature on the determinants of institutions from a methodological perspective. It classifies determinants into three categories—the natural environment, historic events, and culture—and critically discusses the transmission mechanisms via which these variables are theorized to affect contemporary outcomes. Against this background, the chapter offers a critical discussion of the dominant methodological approaches that have been used to identify the impact of determinants. It argues that the literature’s emphasis on causal inference has led to a relative neglect of questions about the validity and interpretation of the data going into analyses and questions about the evolutionary mechanisms linking past determinants to present outcomes. While a turn to historical narratives may remedy some of these concerns, a fuller appreciation of the disciplinary contexts from which the literature borrows (history, and ethnography in particular) is imperative if the literature seeks to translate its intriguing findings into fuller insights on institutional development.