Surprising institutions
Author
Editor
- George C. Bitros
- Nicholas Kyriazis
Summary, in English
This paper introduces the notion of surprising institutions. We often carry incorrect beliefs about the world surrounding us and we are often mistaken about the nature of the institutional structure. The case story in this paper shows that an institution may come as a surprise, even though its origins lies some 500 years back, and that the information we receive as feedback on our actions does not necessarily improve our understanding of the institutional structure. It turns out that it is possible for an “ordinary citizen (professor of economics)” to win a case against a multinational corporation and an age-old government agency (what a surprise!), but it also transpires that even if you win, you lose (not quite a surprise).
Department/s
Publishing year
2014
Language
English
Pages
93-108
Publication/Series
Essays in contemporary economics
Links
Document type
Book chapter
Publisher
Springer
Topic
- Economics
Keywords
- institutions
- surprising
- beliefs
- property rights
- mining
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISBN: 978-3-319-10043-2
- ISBN: 978-3-319-10042-5