The Historical Evolution of Polities

Douglass North

Economic History from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: In an earlier essay (North, 1981, Ch. 3) I developed a "Neo-Classical Theory of the State". This essay elaborates, extends and modifies that essay in three directions: 1. it incorporates time into the model; 2. it is explicitly concerned with the perceptions--the belief systems--that determine choices; and 3. it relates the belief systems to the external environment of the players; both the past environmental experiences that are incorporated in cultural conditioning and the present environmental experiences incorporated in "local learning".

JEL-codes: N (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1994-11-25, Revised 1994-12-14
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Journal Article: The historical evolution of polities (1994)
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