Newsletter Spring 1998 Volume 1, Number 1 INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY for NEW INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS
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Newsletter Spring 1998 Volume 1, Number 1 INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR NEW INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS President’s Message Douglass C. North from the Earhart Foundation, which will allow us to offer modest travel This is the first newsletter of the In- subsidies to persons in developing ternational Society for New Institu- countries who otherwise would not tional Economics (ISNIE). The Soci- be able to attend a meeting. ety was founded in 1997, in response Additionally, the University of to a rising awareness of the worldwide Paris I has subsidized the organiz- interest in the new institutional eco- ing committee for this year’s meet- nomics and through the efforts of, pri- ing. marily, Lee and Alexandra Benham of We are off to a good start, and Washington University in St. Louis, we look forward to moving from Missouri. strength to strength. And right now Announcement of the Society’s I look forward to seeing many of you existence was made on the Internet; in Paris in September. the response was almost overwhelm- Douglass C. North, ing: two hundred and fifteen persons ISNIE President from 24 countries attended the first Contents meeting, held in St. Louis in Septem- research. The second meeting of ber, 1997. (A report on that meeting the Society is to be held in Paris President’s Message 1 comes later in this newsletter.) A ses- this September (more about that ISNIE on the Internet 2 sion of the American Economics As- meeting below). Message from sociation annual meeting in January Any organization such as this Ronald Coase 3 of this year devoted to the new insti- one needs some financing. Dues Invitation to Join the tutional economics and the Society have been set for membership—we Society 4 drew a standing-room-only audience. have tried to keep them low and At this time we are attempting membership therefore affordable. 1997 Conference to disseminate information about the A few individuals have made in St. Louis 4 Society even more widely—through a much-appreciated private contri- Legal Status of ISNIE 4 newsletter as well as via the Internet. butions. After initial support from Forthcoming Conference Both should have the highly important Washington University, we re- in Paris 5 function of putting scholars from ceived grants from the Bradley Join/ Renew Your around the world in contact with each Foundation, enabling us to have the other as they will serve as a clearing administrative help necessary to Membership 6 house for information about ongoing run the Society effectively; and ISNIE NEWSLETTER SPRING 1998 1 ISNIE on the Internet International Society for Michael Sykuta New Institutional Economics The Society has a new World Wide Web address: President http://www.isnie.org Douglass C. North This site includes information on membership in the Society, a directory of NIE Network members, Past President coverage of the 1997 St. Louis conference including Ronald H. Coase audio and video clips and most papers presented there, and information on the upcoming Paris conference. Executive Committee There will again be a conference paper gallery. Those Lee K. Benham, Washington University, USA who are presenting papers at the Paris conference are requested to send electronic copies of their papers to John N. Drobak, Washington University, USA Michael Sykuta: Claude Menard, University of Paris, France [email protected] Douglass C. North, Washington University, USA The preferred format is Adobe (pdf), but any Mary M. Shirley, World Bank, USA format that can be read by Microsoft Word97 will be accepted. Other members who wish to make their Provisional Board of Directors research available are welcome to submit electronic copies of their papers. Benito Arrunada, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain The site also contains links to bibliographic and Lee K. Benham, Washington University, USA data sources of interest to members. We hope to add Ronald H. Coase, University of Chicago, USA new features to enable members to communicate more Harold Demsetz, University of California, efficiently with one another. Your ideas are welcome. The official homepage of the European Web site Los Angeles, USA of the Society is: John N. Drobak, Washington University, USA http://www.univ-paris1.fr/ATOM/nie/nie.html Scott E. Masten, University of Michigan, USA This site includes the first four issues of the Paris Claude Menard, University of Paris, France newsletter begun in November 1996, plus information on upcoming conferences and calls for papers, and Douglass C. North, Washington University, USA lists of recent publications and working papers by Rudolf Richter, University of Saarland, Germany members. Mary M. Shirley, World Bank, USA Note that from now on, the official newsletter Barry R. Weingast, Stanford University, USA of the Society will be published in St. Louis, initially in paper form. The former newsletter issued in Paris Oliver E. Williamson, University of California, (primarily through the Internet) will become an e-mail Berkeley, USA letter and will be distributed electronically to members and friends of the Society. Coordinator Mary E. Drobak This newsletter is published by the International Society for New Institutional Economics. Subscription is provided with Newsletter paid membership in the Society. Alexandra Benham International Society for New Institutional Economics Elisabeth Case Department of Economics, Campus Box 1208 Michael Merithew Washington University One Brookings Drive St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 USA World Wide Web site: Telephone: (314) 935-8571 http: //www.isnie.org Fax: (314) 935-4156 E-mail: [email protected] 2 ISNIE NEWSLETTER SPRING 1998 Message from Ronald Coase I am very happy that the of living of people in that economy. International Society for New However, the level of transaction Institutional Economics has been costs depends on the institutions of a formed. Its goal is to bring about a country, its legal system, its political restructuring of economics. system, its culture and so on. This is Although it will require the work of why we must include the influence many scholars over many years, I of these institutions in our study of have no doubt that its success is the working of an economic system assured. and why we should include in our As we all know, mainstream membership those of our colleagues economics has become more and in law, anthropology, sociology, more abstract over the years. It is political science and similar Ronald Coase, elegant but sterile. It is sterile disciplines, who wish to collaborate Founding President of ISNIE because it fails to include the major in our great enterprise. factors determining the performance There is another aspect of our (American and non-American) will of the economy. It analyses how Society that I would like to mention. play a significant part in bringing supply and demand determine price It is an international society. It is not about the restructuring of economics but not what determines what goods an American society to which non- that is needed. and services are traded and therefore Americans can belong. The United It is impossible to predict priced. However, as we know, the States is now the dominant country exactly what will be accomplished welfare of a people in any economy in economics. But it is not so long and I, personally, will never know. depends on the flow of real goods ago that England was the dominant But many of you, I feel sure, will and services over time. Adam Smith country. And in the past, important see in your lifetime significant said, and he was right, that the contributions to economics have been improvements in economics brought productivity of an economic system made by economists in France, Italy, about by the work of our members. depends on specialisation. But Germany, Austria, Sweden and other I take pleasure in having specialisation is only possible if there countries. We can be sure that in the played a small part in the formation is exchange. And the lower the costs future major contributions will be of our Society and in contemplating of exchange (transaction costs as made to the New Institutional all that it will accomplish. they have come to be called) the more Economics by scholars outside the specialisation there will be, the United States. Our Society will Ronald Coase greater the productivity of the encourage and support them. I have April 5, 1998 economy and the higher the standard no doubt that members of our Society And the lower the costs of exchange (transaction costs as they have come to be called) the more specialisation there will be, the greater the productivity of the economy and the higher the standard of living of people in that economy. However, the level of transaction costs depends on the institutions of a country, its legal system, its political system, its culture.... ISNIE NEWSLETTER SPRING 1998 3 Invitation to Join ISNIE Legal Status of the Society Ronald Coase and conference announced for September John Drobak Douglass North 1997 in St. Louis. Information was The International Society for We invite you to join the disseminated through word of mouth New Institutional Economics has International Society for New and Web sites. After the number of been incorporated under Missouri Institutional Economics, which persons registering for the law as a nonprofit corporation. The has been formed to bring together conference far exceeded original Society has also been registered in people working in this area, estimates, fees were doubled, and France. particularly those doing empirical registration finally had to be closed. The officers of the Society are work. Scholars working in applied The total number of people attending President — Douglass North: Vice NIE include political scientists, was three times the original estimate, President — Lee Benham; Treasurer anthropologists, sociologists, and well over 200 individuals from more — Mary Shirley; Secretary — John lawyers, as well as economists in than two dozen countries, including Drobak.