Economic Institutions Research Articles

The Role of Institutions in the Civilization Schism (the Case of Christianity)

The geopolitical transformations of recent decades have added to the topicality of the study оf civilizational differences between the East and the West relevant. Religion is often cited as a contributing factor to these differences. This can be confirmed by the example of the split of the Christian Church into the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches and, as a consequence, the emergence of the Western and the Eastern Christian civilizations. As a rule, the authors “isolate” religion from the social system, considering it independently of all other spheres, as the primary factor that triggers the emergence of civilization. In this work, the emergence of a new Western and Eastern Christian, is considered within the framework of the institutional approach, as a process of formation of a certain complex institutional structure that regulates the life of society and consists of a whole complex of interconnected and interdependent economic, political, and socio-cultural institutions, including religion. This process can begin in the bowels of the “mother” civilization, causing its crisis. The stages of development and resolution of such a crisis are analyzed using the example of a split in the united Christian world using a matrix approach. This approach assumes that civilization is characterized by a civilizational matrix formed by an institutional core that simultaneously contains market and redistributive institutions on the basis of dominance/complementarity, and a shell that includes cultural-religious and national-demographic characteristics, the naturalclimatic and material-technological environment. The necessity of both strengthening dominant institutions in the institutional core and creating balancers (complementary institutions) for the sustainable development of civilization is shown.

CONVERGENCE IN THE FIELD OF ECONOMICS AND LAW: CORRELATION OF PROCESSES

The activities of the modern state are carried out taking into account the trends inherent in the global community. One of the driving forces behind these trends is the strengthening of economic integration due to the increasing role of finance in the world economy, the effects of globalisation, liberalisation, concentration and centralisation of financial capital, which have shaped the new shape of the modern economic system. The integration of the world economy requires the integration of law in accordance with generally recognised norms and principles at the international level. The international character of law is an external circumstance that determines the facts of legal regulation of the convergence of states and peoples, their economies, cultures and ideologies. Convergence leads to the convergence of different legal systems and economic models. These circumstances indicate the existence of a global phenomenon that can be described as the process of economic and legal convergence. The subject of the study is the patterns of convergence in the field of economics and law. The authors aim to study the genesis of the convergence theory, identify the main trends and prospects for the development of convergence in the current environment, and explain the patterns of convergence in the field of economics and law in the context of globalisation. The methodological basis of the research is the theory of economic and legal convergence, the theory of state regulation of the economy, the theory of socio-economic systems and economic growth developed in the works of domestic and foreign economists, lawyers and philosophers. The study of basic economic and legal institutions is carried out on the basis of the dialectical method, general scientific methods of abstraction, analysis, synthesis and systematic approach. The research of certain issues was carried out using special methods: historical, comparative, interpretation of law, logical and legal, as well as methods of specific economic research, etc. The authors analyse certain issues of economic and legal convergence in terms of their historical formation, relevance, efficiency and prospects for application. Results. Convergence in the field of economics and law is a process of interaction of relevant elements both within national systems and economic and legal systems of different states, characterised by convergence, an increase in the number of links between the elements of converging objects and a certain degree of consistency of the impact of these elements on social relations. On the basis of the study, the authors believe that the use of convergence processes in the field of economics and law at the global level should be carried out only in a harmonious manner, creating common balanced results based on a unifying model of coherent cooperation of the subjects of these processes.

Second-order Economic Voting in Elections to the European Parliament

When examining citizens’ behaviour in elections to the European Parliament (EP), second order elections (SOE) and economic voting (EV) have overlooked each other as alien traditions. However, they should not be seen as incompatible: voters may use EP elections to support national incumbents but, at the same time, this support may be the result of an economic assessment. This paper blends both frameworks and finds that, even though EP elections are not intended to evaluate domestic politics, voters use them to reward or punish national incumbents (i.e. SOE) for the state of the economy (i.e. EV); a behaviour referred to here as ‘second-order economic voting’. The predominance of second-order EV is relevant for EU politics. If EP elections enhance national incumbents’ accountability while the European executive remains unacknowledged, this could be disturbing for European economic institutions.

The concept of the Shafi ʻi school in basics of buying and selling

Buying and selling is one of the main economic institutions in Islamic Law. It allows people to exchange goods and services in accordance with the principles of fairness and equality. The article examines the scientific method of making decisions by the founder of the Shafiʻi legal school, the famous thinker of the early Middle Ages Imam al-Shafiʻi (767–820), and analyzes his views in the field of law, which the Shafiʻis refer to in their relationships in the trade transactions. Particular attention is paid to the issue of sources of Islamic Law the Shafiites appeal to. In this article, for the first time in Russian jurisprudence, the author studies and examines in sufficient detail the Shafiʻi approach to purchase and sale. In addition, the authors takes as the focal point the compromise nature of the Shafischool, which, on the basis of exclusively scientific methods, managed to synthesize the most promising provisions of more “liberal” Hanafism and “conservative” Malikism.

Missing Transformational Place Leadership-Why High-Tech Industries are not Developed in Hong Kong

This paper adopts a place leadership perspective to examine the failed efforts of developing high-tech industries in Hong Kong. It demonstrates that it is challenging to change from transactional to transformational leadership and argues that the failure of developing high-tech industries in Hong Kong is partially attributable to the lack of transformational political and business leaderships. The political leaders' ineffectiveness in developing hightech industries in Hong Kong is also attributable to the regional/national/international institutional structural forces that have created both opportunities and challenges. This study contributes to the discussion on the critical value of transformational place leadership for creating new local/regional economic growth path and the embeddedness of place leadership in local/regional/national political and economic institutions.

How Institutional Economics May Support the Analysis of Individual and Collective Capabilities

ABSTRACT The analysis in this article starts from the recognition that institutions make an important part of the Capability Approach, as conversion factors from resources to capabilities and as affecting agency. The tradition of Old Institutional Economics is critical of the neoclassical view of the individual and agency and emphasises the importance of social context. Hence, there is some common ground between the Capability Approach (CA) and Old Institutional Economics (OIE). The purpose of this article is to explore how insights from OIE might enrich the CA both conceptually and empirically. This may be done for individual capabilities as well as for collective capabilities. A better understanding of collective resource-institutions and collective agency-institutions will also contribute to the analysis of capability expansion in the community economy through collective productive capabilities in commons, cooperatives and mutuals. The conclusion is that an understanding of institutions in the tradition of OIE may help to clarify the relationships between social norms and agency; complement the notion of constrained choice with enabling institutions; and point at how institutional transformation may support individual and collective capability expansion.

The Evolution of Redlining in the United States Housing Market

This article explores the lasting effects of redlining in the United States on wealth creation and economic opportunity. Due to rising mortgage rates and low supply, housing costs are growing. Redlining is the practice of discrimination in the homebuying and lending market that resulted in significant housing inequality. While illegal since the 1970s, redlining has not disappeared but rather evolved. Institutional economics provides a framework to understand the history, consequences, and solutions to modern redlining that can generate greater housing equality in the United States. This article uses the latest Federal Reserve Bank’s Survey of Consumer Finances (2023) data to analyze the size and effects of housing inequality resulting from redlining practices and what groups are most affected. From these empirical findings, public policy solutions are presented to create a more financially stable and equitable housing market.

A non-conforming technocratic dream: Howard Scott’s technocracy movement

ABSTRACT This article traces Howard Scott’s technocracy movement in the United States from the 1930s onwards, attempting to rearticulate it as a moment in interwar non-conformism. Conceived in America’s culture of material affluence, the technocracy movement was intellectually based on two fin-de-siècle undercurrents: the scientific management movement and Veblen’s institutional economics. The technocracy movement appropriated and developed their ideas of efficiency and waste, attempting to negotiate a space between industrial capitalism and socialism by offering new ideas of managing society based on maximizing productive efficiency and minimizing waste. While its political disorganization and Scott’s spotty past turned brief success into ultimate failure, the speed and intensity of the popular following for technocracy testifies to the broad appeal of 1930s non-conformism. Further, responding to looming unemployment in the pursuit of efficiency through mechanization, the technocracy presented, if accidentally, an ecological vision manifest in the idea of energy certificates. Yet, the fundamentally productivist premise of the movement ultimately marred its substantive development and made the movement fragmented and functionally appropriated.

The Evolving Attitudes of Institutional Economists: From Growth to Degrowth

The growth imperative characteristic of consumer capitalism rests on continuous mass production, fueled by fossil fuels, legitimized by the assumption that wants are infinite. Institutionalists have generally attributed growth to technology, a manifestation of the community’s knowledge base applied to increasing throughput to produce goods. That same technology, however, may precipitate degrowth, a decline in the throughput making growth possible. The first section attributes the Great Acceleration to continuous mass production, requiring the corporate form of business enterprise. The second section explains the degrowth movement focusing on the work of George Kallis. Degrowth arose in response to the adverse effects of growth, providing an ecological critique of mainstream economics. Degrowth advocates minimizing throughput. The third section briefly traces the evolution of institutionalists’ attitudes towards growth, attitudes guided by the principles of instrumental valuation and social provisioning. The fourth section offers a conclusion, focusing on pecuniary emulation pushing people to live at the pecuniary standard, a standard that continues to rise with increases in throughput and innovation.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Institutional Change

From the perspective of an individual country, it is necessary to implement a series of policy measures and strategies to achieve long-term multiple goals and targets. As a result, whether adjustments or changes in institutions can be timely aligned from the short term to the long term becomes vital. Since “[p]romote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth” and “[e]nsure sustainable consumption and production patterns” have been clearly stated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 12, respectively, it is necessary to make an institutional transition from the conventional linear economy to a circular and sustainable economy. This transition involves substantial changes in the value structure of society’s institutions. For instance, the mainstream curricula have little relevance to the subject matter of sustainability and should be revised to accommodate more socio-economic elements of sustainability in the original institutional economics (OIE) tradition.

Erosion of economic institutions in the age of democratic backsliding: an analysis of the Turkish case

ABSTRACT This article examines the erosion of economic institutions against the backdrop of democratic backsliding, focusing on the Turkish case since the early 2010s. Drawing on the cases of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) and the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA), it analyses the transformation of these institutions at both de jure and de facto levels. The article identifies specific mechanisms of institutional erosion and links them to the dynamics of democratic backsliding ushered by the successive governments of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). It offers a periodization of erosion, demonstrating how the verticalization of decision-making, top-down centralization, and cooptation is reflected in the cases of CBRT and TCA. The article discusses the prevalence of continuity regarding politicization and cooptation of economic institutions in the context of the 2023 General Elections, notwithstanding some policy changes.

Economy as a Social Institution in the Tribal Society: A Scale to Measure the Perceived Role Performance of Economic Institutions

Economic institutions play a pivotal role in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) among tribal communities. Despite improved access to economic institutions and their services through government and private interventions, a majority of tribals in India continue to face extreme poverty. This study focuses on developing and validating a scale to measure the perceived role performance of economic institutions in tribal societies. Employing Likert’s summated rating scale construction technique, a scale comprising 10 statements related to economic institutions’ roles has been developed. Standardisation through reliability and validity measures, as well as confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), confirms the robustness of the scale. Administered to 270 tribal respondents in Salem, Tiruvannamalai and Viluppuram Districts of Tamil Nadu, our findings unveil diverse roles and challenges faced by economic institutions in tribal societies. The study reveals a nuanced perception among tribal respondents, with a majority indicating a medium to high level of perception. However, a notable proportion demonstrates a low perception level, highlighting areas of concern. The study underscores the importance of targeted strategies to boost financial inclusion and empower tribal communities. It also provides policy recommendations for addressing challenges and fostering sustainable development within tribal societies.

Impact of Structural Employee Empowerment on Hospital Ratings: Mediating Role of Social Climate and First-Line Managers' Resilience.

The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between the structural empowerment of first-line health managers and health facility performance, examining the mediating roles of resilience and social climate in shaping the ratings of Slovak hospitals. Additionally, we aim to investigate the deeper mechanisms of this relationship, particularly the impact of resilience and the social climate, which can positively influence it. The data collection was conducted through a questionnaire survey in February 2022. Respondents included 540 healthcare managers at the first level of management from 44 Slovak hospitals, all of which were part of the evaluation by the Institute for Economic and Social Reforms (INEKO). The analysis involved the use of the PLS-SEM method to examine the relationships between variables and assess direct and indirect effects, utilizing SmartPLS 3.3 software. The findings reveal a positive association between the structural empowerment of first-level managers and the ranking of health facilities. The hypotheses regarding the mediation of both variables - First-Level Managers' (FLMs) resilience and social climate - are supported, whether considered separately or jointly. In the case of joint mediation, a significant portion of the indirect effect is conveyed through FLMs' resilience, suggesting a potential avenue of support from hospital management to enhance health facility ratings. Structural empowerment of first-line managers establishes the conditions for improving the ratings of health facilities. The total effect is significantly more pronounced in promoting their resilience and fostering a supportive social climate.

The Impact of Economic Openness and Institutional Environment on Technological Innovation: Evidence From China’s Provincial Patent Application Data

Analyzing the impact of economic openness and institutional environment on technological innovation is of great significance for China to build a new system of open economy. This study investigates the short- and long-run effects of economic openness and institutional environment on innovation by applying a dynamic panel regression model and two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) method to dynamic panel data of China’s 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government (referred to as provinces hereafter) from 2008 to 2017. Results indicate that trade openness impedes innovation, whereas foreign direct investment (FDI) significantly promotes China’s innovation particularly in the long-run. The continuous improvement of institutional environment promotes domestic innovation particularly in the long run. The integration of economic openness and institutional environment magnifies the effects of trade openness and FDI on innovation. The effects of economic openness and institutional environment on innovation differ by region with a descending pattern from China’s Eastern to the Central and Western regions.

Indien: Die Bedeutung der Zuwanderung für die Zukunft des Wirtschaftsstandorts Deutschland

Abstract The immigration of STEM specialists has a decisive impact on Germany’s ability to innovate. Analyses by the German Economic Institute with a focus on India show high employment growth in recent years. Indian STEM specialists earn comparatively high median wages. The revised Skilled Labour Immigration Act offers the opportunity to further strengthen and accelerate this immigration process.

The Role Of Macroeconomics In The Post-Collapse Status Quo Between Leadership Periods In Indonesia Has Significant Implications, Especially From The Perspective Of Institutional Economics.

The economic crisis is one of the triggers for economic crises in various countries from over time. It's not just the economic crisis, apart from that the more important thing is the collapse of the structure of society, the direction of the economy and politics in the future, in the status quo situation after the collapse between leadership periods in Indonesia, where government product regulations, including external institutions, cause uncontrolled public reactions to the transition situation. This article discusses the situation in Indonesia from era to era, from a macro-economic, political and institutional perspective. So economics and politics are a forum for leaders to decide on strategic policies in leading the government during the transition period.

Governance of the circular economy in the canned fish industry: A case study from Spain

Spain is the leading country in production, 305,403 tons in 2022, of canned fish in Europe. Part of its success is because this industry is one of the leading sectors in innovation and technology transfer within the agri-food chain in Spain. At the beginning of the 21st century, its research center created a line of product valorization, the seed of current research on circular economy. This article aims to analyze, from the New Institutional Economics (NIE) approach, the process of institutional change and the evolution of the Spanish canned fish sector. The evolution of the legal framework, as well as the internal organization of the sector and its strategies, have modified the governance relationships, altering the incentives and transaction costs of the industry actors. The results show the existence of two distinct stages, 2007–2015 and 2016–2022. In the first stage, most of the research projects were regional in nature and institutional relations were more limited. In the second stage, the creation of a solid legal framework together with the inauguration of a new research center, the incorporation of new equipment, the increase in the number of partners and the increase in relations with agents in the sector reinforced the implementation of the circular economy in the canning industry. In both periods, the high degree of associationism in the Spanish canned fish industry is key to creating economies of scale, increasing public and private collaborations and participating in research projects.

Российская модернизация в контексте социокультурного дискурса

Solving the problems of modernization of Russia includes not only the transformation of basic economic, social, and political institutions, but also profound changes in the socio-cultural sphere of society, the formation of a value-normative complex adequate to modernity. This section of the modernization theme is the subject of socio-cultural discourse, the analysis of the methodological specifics of which is devoted to this article. The author focuses on the differences between the versions of socio-cultural modernization of Russia in comparison with the concept of "multiple modernity", showing its methodological potential in solving the problems of modernization of non-Western societies.

Институциональные факторы развития рынка жилой недвижимости Российской Федерации

The authors formulated the fundamental postulates of the institutional approach to the study of the patterns of development of the real estate market, investigated the main stages of the functioning of the Russian Federation’s residential real estate market, which identified specific trends and analyzed the causes of crisis conditions. For each period of market development under consideration, the spheres of influence of the main institutional participants have been established. As a result, a generalized classification of residential real estate market institutions is proposed based on the experience of foreign traditional and neoclassical economic schools, as well as the works of domestic authors in the field of institutional economics. As a result of the performed research, the authors identified the key institutional factors specifying the formation and state of the modern housing construction market, which are systematized by the source of their impact on individual indicators of the real estate market or the behavior of its participants.

Building Sustainable Social Housing System: A Singapore Case from New Institutionalism Economics Approach

Policymakers worldwide currently face challenges in planning, regulating, and managing the housing market. One of the primary solutions is the provision of affordable social housing fostering economic development, culture integration, technology empowerment, and social stability. Singapore is recognized as a successful model of well-balanced centralized legislation and market-augmented governance. However, current studies have mainly focused on urban planning and real estate finance fields. A holistic approach should be conducted to understand the effectiveness of the whole framework and policy conduit including affordability, inclusiveness, and connectivity. This study emphasizes the importance of the Housing and Development Board (HDB) governance and analyzes what policies make social housing schemes robust and sustainable by combining the Singapore case with the New Institutionalism Economics (NIE) approach. HDB decreases transaction costs by centralized planning and establishes a transparent system to increase housing affordability and ownership. Inclusiveness is achieved by inter-departmental joint force so that social capital can be maximized for diverse community cohesion. Socio-technical change and institutional evolution have mutual effects on each other for efficiency and connectivity. Digital innovations make sustainable communities and smart cities. As a result, this study proposes a practical framework for learning from Singapore's implications for national governance, institutional development, and policy formulation that holds universal reference value.