Surprising institutions

Carl Hampus Lyttkens

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-10043-2_8

Surprising institutions

Carl Hampus Lyttkens

Department of Economics

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Book chapter › Research › peer-review

Abstract

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).

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Essays in Contemporary Economics
Subtitle of host publication	A Festschrift in Memory of A. D. Karayiannis
Publisher	Springer
Pages	103-115
Number of pages	13
ISBN (Electronic)	9783319100432
ISBN (Print)	9783319100425
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10043-2_8
Publication status	Published - 2015 Jan 1

Subject classification (UKÄ)

Economics

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10.1007/978-3-319-10043-2_8

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Surprising institutions

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Subject classification (UKÄ)

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