The Rise of the Western World

Douglass C. North is also professor of history and a fellow of the Center in Political Economy. He was on the faculty of the University of Washington and held visiting chairs at Cambridge and Rice Universities. In 1993 he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served as president of the Economic History Association and the Western Economic Association. His major interest is the evolution of economic and political institutions. The effects of institutions on the development of economies through time is a major emphasis in his work in both economic history and development. Among his books are The Rise of the Western World (with R. P. Thomas, 2nd edition), 1973, Growth and Welfare in the American Past, 1973, Structure and Change in Economic History, 1981, and Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, 1990.

出版者:Cambridge University Press

作者:Douglass C. North

页数:180

出版时间:1976-7-30

价格:USD 32.99

装帧:Paperback

isbn号码:9780521290999

图书标签:经济史经济学economics经济Institutional历史制度经济学Douglas

This is a landmark book on the impact of property rights on European economic development. Published over a quarter of a century ago, its stated goal is "... to suggest new paths for the study of European economic history rather than ... either [a detailed and exhaustive study or a precise empirical test that are the] ... standard formats" (p. vii). North and Thomas attempt to identify the elements that allowed the Western European economy to rise to affluence. Their argument is made transparent in Chapter One (Theory and Overview): the key to growth was and is an efficient economic system. Efficient in the sense that the system of property rights gives individuals incentives to innovate and produce, and, conversely inhibits those activities (rent-seeking, theft, arbitrary confiscation and/or excessive taxation) that reduce individual incentives. They argue that property rights are classic public goods because: (1) once a more efficient set of property rights is discovered the marginal cost of copying it is low (compared to the cost of discovering and developing it); (2) it is prohibitively expensive to prevent other political jurisdictions from emulating a more efficient set of property rights regardless of whether they contributed to their construction; (3) and finally, the idea of a set of property rights, like all ideas, is non-rival -- we can all consume the same idea and the "stock" of the idea is not diminished. These public good aspects lead them to conclude that there may be under investment in the attempts to create more efficient sets of property rights because the jurisdiction that invests in the development of property rights pays the entire cost of their development but receives only benefits that accrue to its jurisdiction, while other jurisdictions can get the benefits without any of the developmental costs. Thus, the problems of public goods and the "free riders."

读后感

【http://blog.sina.com.cn/leiwon】道格拉斯·诺思是新经济史领域的杰出代表，1973年与罗伯斯·托马斯合著出版的《西方世界的兴起》是该学术领域进入新制度经济学分析阶段的重要著作。这本书开门见山提出中心论点：“有效率的经济组织是经济增长的关键，一个有效率的经济组织...  

似乎也就是那么几年之前，产权理论和新制度主义在中国大行其道，这种大行其道带着一个颇为简单的因果链条：经济增长来源于有效率的经济组织制度；那么自然而然地，我们要进一步保持经济增长，就要设计落实一套适合经济增长的制度。如果说这种解读的话语是国家主导的发展压力下...  

【http://blog.sina.com.cn/leiwon】道格拉斯·诺思是新经济史领域的杰出代表，1973年与罗伯斯·托马斯合著出版的《西方世界的兴起》是该学术领域进入新制度经济学分析阶段的重要著作。这本书开门见山提出中心论点：“有效率的经济组织是经济增长的关键，一个有效率的经济组织...  

诺斯所阐述的“所有权的确定（或明晰）是近代西欧经济快速增长的动因”理论没有大瑕疵，问题出在翻译，很多句子初看让人摸不着头脑。 例如：“领主和他的骑士专门生产保护和公正，而依靠农奴来消费它们。”（第30页） 猜想译者想表达的是：领主和骑士不从事农业生产，他们依...  

用户评价

制度经济学的经典之作！

Efficient economic institution propelled the economic growth observed in western Europe.

啰啰嗦嗦

经济增长来源于自由的市场，和恰当的法制。政府都有短视的倾向，必须限制政府权力。

看了一半英文，一半中文