This is a ground-breaking book about the foundations of institutional economics. K. William Kapp presents the economic role of institutions for economic development, capital formation and technological dynamics in an easily accessible and comprehensive manner. As a front-rank 20th century institutional economist, Kapp pulls together arguments from a variety of sources, including Thorstein Veblen, John Kenneth Galbraith and Gunnar Myrdal, all of which emphasize the crucial role of institutions. The author cements institutional economics as a distinct and coherent framework of analysis to effectively address urgent socio-economic problems, such as environmental disruption and sustainable development. This book begins with a critique of conventional (neoclassical) economics and an overview of the antecedents of institutional economics. The core of the book is formed by the chapters on institutions, human economic behavior and needs, arguing that institutional change is key to directing economic development towards sustainable and adequate living conditions, rather than merely formal growth formulas. The final chapters provide the reader with the institutional theories of capital and technology, showing how capital formation and technological dynamics are determined by institutions, such as the principle of investment for profit. The appendix complements Kapp’s plea for institutional change with articles on science and technology, social costs, substantive economics, and circular and cumulative causation. This book is suited for readers at all levels who are interested in institutional economics, the history of economics thought, political economics as well as ecological and heterodox economics. Researchers and students will find it to be an easily accessible and a concise elaboration on the foundations of institutional economics.

Product Description: This thought-provoking volume presents essays on the foundations of non-equilibrium economics, i.e. the principle of circular cumulative causation (CCC). This work presents empirical research on how the interplay of technology’s increasing returns to scale, institutions, resources, and economic policy leads to virtuous circles of economic growth and development, but also to vicious circles of social and ecological degradation...read more

Product Description: In Zeiten immer knapper werdender öffentlicher Mittel gewinnt der Schutz des öffentlichen Vermögens mehr und mehr an Bedeutung. Diese Untersuchung geht der Frage nach, welchen Beitrag dabei § 263 StGB zu leisten vermag. Dazu beleuchtet die Studie zunächst eingehend den Schutzbereich des § 263 StGB in Bezug auf öffentliches Vermögen - bezieht dabei rechtsvergleichend auch die schweizerische und österreichische Betrugsdogmatik ein - und arbeitet sodann die Problematik des Vermögensschadens auf, die den Schwerpunkt der Untersuchung bildet: Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei Fragen aus dem Bereich des Anstellungsbetrugs...read more