Research In North Research Articles

The essence of the state in Douglas North's research: theoretical aspect

The essence of the state in Douglas North's research: theoretical aspect

Theory Without Measurement or Some Finishing Touches on The Creative Portrait of Douglass North

The article examines some of the key features of the scientific work of Douglass North. It is argued that the popular image of North as an adherent of this or that school of economic thought is not highly relevant. The authors believe that one of the key features of North's research style is his "theory-centricity". The article demonstrates that the most important milestones in North's career (fling with Marxism in his youth, participation in the Сliometrics revolution, the transition from neoclassical economist to one of the founders of neo-institutionalism, a turn towards cognitive science), despite the seeming lack of continuity served as kind of steps of the ladder along which North went to the creation of a comprehensive theory of social development. Based on the results of qualitative content analysis of North's works of the 1950s and 60s, the authors show that even in the years of his affinity for quantitative economic history, the economist always put the ability to theorize above the skills of quantitative analysis. This feature, combined with the recent empirical turn in economics, which raised the prestige of empirical work to unprecedented heights, made it difficult for modern mainstream economists to perceive the ideas of the "late" North. The authors' analysis of the citation structure of North's last major book, "Violence and Social Orders. Conceptual framework for the interpretation of the written history of mankind" confirms this trend. This book generates greater interest among heterodox economists, historians, and political scientists than among representatives of mainstream economics. In the article's conclusion, the authors speculate about the prospects of the Northian theory-driven style of doing economic research in the face of the progressive "empirization" of modern economics.

ADVANCES IN HAZELNUT RESEARCH IN NORTH AMERICA

ISHS XXVIII International Horticultural Congress on Science and Horticulture for People (IHC2010): International Symposium on the Challenge for a Sustainable Production, Protection and Consumption of Mediterranean Fruits and Nuts ADVANCES IN HAZELNUT RESEARCH IN NORTH AMERICA

Alternative Visions of Change in Douglass North’s New Institutionalism

The aim of this essay is to explore the implications of the concept of gradualism in Douglass C. North's recent works. Such a concept is mostly implied in his discourse, as a logical consequence (or premise) of his reasoning, but despite its strategic function it is rarely given theoretical treatment. In particular, the essay seeks to show that the gradualistic view of institutional change is not utilizable in many respects, although it performs an indisputable role as an explanatory category in a number of cases addressed by North. In my view, this conclusion arises from North's research itself. Consequently, the first section of this essay discusses the terms in which North deals with gradualism. The second section shows how the non-convergent times of transformation, of both formal and informal constraints, introduce the problem of conflict between these two basic kinds of norm. The third section deals with some problems arising from coexistence between competing or conflicting rules (both formal and informal). Within this framework, the role of contingencies emerges as influencing the path of institutional change, especially when the distance between formal and informal rules increasingly diminishes (fourth section). These various arguments induce reconsideration of North's notion of gradualism, and a sign of such revision seemingly emerges from a recent contribution by the author (written with Arthur D. Denzau) in which the dynamics of both institutions and shared mental models are treated in terms of punctuated equilibria theory, that is, in anti-gradualistic terms (fifth section). The accepted heritage of both Stephen J. Gould's and Thomas S. Kuhn's approaches evidently poses new problems, yet it opens a number of stimulating perspectives for interpretation of institutional change.