POLS 1155 Study Guide - Final Guide: Counterargument, Liberal Democracy, Authoritarianism
27 Aug 2016
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Smith, wealth of nations rationalist (with structuralist elements) Banerjee and iyer: history, institutions, and economic performance. Landowning class harms peasants because they have power. There are no natural gravitations towards good institutions . Institutions: basic structure by which human beings create order and reduce uncertainty in exchange. Make the country"s economy open to international flows of capital. Use monetary value as a tool to help stabilize the economy. Maintain stability in the currency exchange rate. Constraints on actions of elites, politicians, etc. to avoid expropriation. Some degree of equal opportunity for a broad segment of society. No compelling evidence to think that societies will naturally gravitate towards good institutions. Institutions change when groups that favor change become powerful enough to impose it (or when society can bargain with potential losers/shield them from consequences, but whatever lol) An institution is only legitimate if the culture allows it to be legitimate.
