Institutions

Arild Vatn

Chapter 8 in Rethinking Ecological Economics, 2026, pp 134-146 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Institutions are fundamental to human action and interaction. The capacity to make elaborate systems of institutions is a key emergent property of being human and has made it possible both to create complex societies and expand our activities vastly. Institutions may be categorized into conventions, norms and legal rules. While the former consists of rules and practices that routinize life and make complex interaction possible – e.g., language – the latter two are distinguishable as they also protect values. Institutions like property rights are fundamental to the economic process. Together with discourses, institutions represent fundamental power structures in a society. Power forms our capacity to act, but also to dominate, control resource use, include and exclude. Institutions are seen as preceding action – acting always operates in a given institutional context. However, institutions can be changed through collective action. Types of institutional change are briefly discussed.

Keywords: Institutions; Human constructions; Structural power; Discursive power; Institutional change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781803921839
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