DP3882 The New Comparative Economics

Author(s): Simeon Djankov , Edward L Glaeser , Florencio López-de-Silanes , Andrei Shleifer

Publication Date: May 2003

Keyword(s): comparative economics , institutions , colonial transplantations , transition

JEL(s): P00 , P10 , P20 , P50

Programme Areas: Transition Economics

Link to this Page: www.cepr.org/pubs/dps/DP3882.asp

In recent years, comparative economics experienced a revival, with a new focus on comparing capitalist economies. The theme of the new research is that institutions exert a profound influence on economic development. We argue that, to understand capitalist institutions, one needs to understand the basic trade-off between the costs of disorder and those of dictatorship. We then apply this logic to study the structure of efficient institutions, the consequences of colonial transplantation, and the politics of institutional choice.