Individuals, Institutions, and Markets

C. Mantzavinos teaches Economics at the University of Freiburg and the University of Bayreuth.

• Preface; Acknowledgements; Part I. Individuals: 1. Explaining individual behavior: the problem-solving framework; 2. The motivational aspect: the strive for utility increase; 3. The cognitive aspect: the theory of learning; 4. The choice aspect; Part II. Institutions: 5. Shared mental models: emergence and evolution; 6. Explaining institutions; 7. Informal institutions; 8. Formal institutions; Part III. Markets: 9. Institutions and the market: the aggregate level; 10. Institutions and market: the microeconomic level; 11. The theory of evolutionary competition; 12. An application: institutions, markets, and economic development; Concluding observations: unified social science as political economy?; References; Author index; Subject index.

'Institutional analysis has recently progressed to expand its domain to include issues of knowledge and cognition. This book is among the first and only to provide a systematic treatment of this important issue. Furthermore, it incorporates the discussion and analysis of this issue with that of more traditional institutional analysis. It is a milestone and will provide a benchmark for future research.' Avner Greif, Stanford University