Organizations not Atoms: Rules, Organizations, and Long Term Development
In the mid to late 19th century a great break in human development occurred. For the first time in recorded human history a few societies began to experience steady increases in material income and wealth. This paper develops a theory of rules and organizations to better understand key features of the development process that began to occur in the mid-19th century. Those features have not spread widely throughout the world since the mid-20th century. They include impersonal rules that apply to all citizens, political and civil rights, rule of law, open elections, and long lived stable political parties. Perhaps lacking these institutions and outcomes, as a result, most societies in the world are still “undeveloped” or “developing” economically and politically. The theory shows how a complex of institutional changes in the “developed” societies enables a few societies to support much deeper, denser, and coordinated networks of organizations.
Date: 24 January 2023, 17:00 (Tuesday, 2nd week, Hilary 2023)
Venue: Nuffield College, New Road OX1 1NF
Venue Details: Large Lecture Room or https://zoom.us/j/99415477879?pwd=b29jVUZnYm5WMTkyakJ0TFNPNmlaUT09
Speaker: John Wallis (University of Maryland)
Organising department: Department of Economics
Part of: Economic and Social History Seminar
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Emma Heritage