Comments on: Is Game Theory of Any Value for the Historical Analysis of Institutions? http://rufuspollock.org/2008/03/04/is-game-theory-of-any-value-for-the-historical-analysis-of-institutions/ Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:17:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: Jan Maridal http://rufuspollock.org/2008/03/04/is-game-theory-of-any-value-for-the-historical-analysis-of-institutions/comment-page-1/#comment-128171 Jan Maridal Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:53:49 +0000 http://www.rufuspollock.org/2008/03/04/is-game-theory-of-any-value-for-the-historical-analysis-of-institutions/#comment-128171 <p>How can you possibly be "struck by his pessimistic tone"? Gregory Clark is an anti-institutionalist, he believes In Malthusian ideas on genetics and evolution. His reading review has to be understood in this light. he is never going to agree with anything the Institutional school writes. </p> <p>In my opinion, Max Weber and Rodney Stark is right that cultural foundations/belief systems matter, but so do institutions (that have to be in long-run equilibrium with this belief-system). To say, like Clarke, that institutions are irrelevant for economic growth is not correct. This goes without saying. Incentives and transaction cost matters, and Institutions also provide feedback that contribute to shape the culture in a society. But to say that institutions explain everything (North 1973) is also imprecise.</p> How can you possibly be “struck by his pessimistic tone”? Gregory Clark is an anti-institutionalist, he believes In Malthusian ideas on genetics and evolution. His reading review has to be understood in this light. he is never going to agree with anything the Institutional school writes.

In my opinion, Max Weber and Rodney Stark is right that cultural foundations/belief systems matter, but so do institutions (that have to be in long-run equilibrium with this belief-system). To say, like Clarke, that institutions are irrelevant for economic growth is not correct. This goes without saying. Incentives and transaction cost matters, and Institutions also provide feedback that contribute to shape the culture in a society. But to say that institutions explain everything (North 1973) is also imprecise.

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