North argues that an economic change depends primarily on, "adaptive efficiency," a societies ability to effectively create institutions that are productive, stable, fair, broadly accepted by its population, and flexible enough to change or be replaced in response to economic or political feedback. These institutions are created by formal and informal rules that govern human behavior. This book explores the reasons why these institutions and the rules that govern them evolve and change. He points to human intentions as the biggest factor. He states that people learn as societies and their intentions change. They use this learning to change their institutions and the economies that are based on them. This very analytical work is an interesting mixture of psychology and social thought with economics. It can help us to understand our changing economy today as well as to give direction to economically developing nations.This book can be found in HECSA Library:
Understanding the Process of Economic Change
Douglass C. North
HB 97.3 .N67 2005
