This book provides evolutionary and institutional perspectives on the reform of infrastructure industries, tracing the development of this process in a number of sectors and countries.The contributors contend that infrastructure based industries such as telecommunications, public transport, water management and energy have been increasingly exposed to the dynamism of the market since becoming privatized, and have therefore been stimulated into short-term efficiency and long-term innovation. Drawing on institutional economic theory backed up with case studies such as the California energy crisis, the Dutch gas industry, oil and electricity companies in Spain and the privatization of Schipol airport in Amsterdam, the book focuses on process, driving forces, and actors' roles to explain how new balances are established between competing institutions. The degree to which the processes of institutional change are predictable and the effects of deliberate strategic interventions of governments or private actors are explored. Specific technical and sector aspects and their influence on institutional change in various infrastructures are also discussed. This book will strongly appeal to academics and practitioners in politics or industry with an interest in industrial, evolutionary institutional or public sector economics.

Institutionalist analysis is increasingly used as a key research tool for economists confronted with the shortcomings of mainstream economic analysis and the problems presented by the transformation of socio-economic systems in Eastern Europe. On Economic Institutions brings together leading economists working in a wide range of research traditions who examine theories of institutions and institutional change. This important volume shows that the failure of most neoclassical economic analysis to consider economic institutions is a major shortcoming in scholarship which seeks to describe and understand crucial economic phenomena. After discussing the dynamics of institutional change, the contributors examine the explanatory variables necessary for researching institutions and pay particular attention to 'efficiency' as the key variable used by neoclassical institutional analysis. Later chapters examine the processes of institutional change focusing on issues such as path dependency, selection mechanisms and institutional dynamics, and methodological issues in analysing economic institutions. An introduction by the editors places these papers in context and traces the development of economic research across the various schools. Economists from both neoclassical and institutionalist schools, as well as economic historians, are making increasing use of institutionalist analysis as a key research tool. In bringing together cutting-edge theory and research on economic institutions, this important volume will be welcomed by scholars working in evolutionary and institutionalist research traditions, as well as by organizational theorists and sociologists.

In interaction with their environment, firms change constantly; in trying to reduce uncertainties, they influence both their markets and the wider socio-political environment. Dynamics of the Firm addresses theoretical, empirical and policy issues concerned with the changing structure of firms. This book seeks to develop a theory of the dynamics of the firm which contrasts with the neoclassical view of the firm as a static production function in a world of given technology and institutions. Papers discussing new institutional theories of the firm in relation to sociological approaches, in which power and trust play an important role, are followed by contributions which focus on empirical issues such as pricing strategies, industrial groups and networking. The public policy implications are discussed extensively. Offering an original analysis of the organizational structures of firms operating in changing environments, this volume of essays by a distinguished group of economists will be welcomed by students, teachers and researchers in the areas of industrial organization and organizational economics.

Industrial Policies after 2000 investigates industrial policy during a time of deregulation, privatization and a growing interest in small government. This book brings together scholarship from different countries, different institutional contexts, and different theoretical perspectives. That includes the neoclassical `market' approach, game theoretical models, and institutional economics.

Infrastructures are complex networks dominated by tight interdependencies between technologies and institutions. These networks supply services crucial to modern societies, services that can be provided only if several critical functions are fulfilled. This book proposes a theoretical framework with a set of concepts to analyse rigorously how these critical functions require coordination within the technological dimension as well as within the institutional dimension. It also shows how fundamental the alignment between these two dimensions is. It argues that this alignment operates along different layers characterized successively by the structure, governance and transactions that connect technologies and institutions. These issues of coordination and alignment, at the core of the book, are substantiated through in-depth case studies of networks from the energy, water and wastewater, and transportation sectors.

This book contains the key-note lectures and a selection of papers that were presented at the 15th Conference of the European Association for Research in Industrial Econo mics (EARlE) held under the auspices of GRASP at Erasmus University Rotterdam in 1988, plus an introductory chapter by the Editors. Upon suggestions by the Editors, all papers have been revised for this book, some more extensively than others. Robin Marris has added to his lecture a synopsis of the contributions to the Round Table on the Micro-Macro Interface which he chaired during the Conference. The papers cover issues that seem to be both interesting and relevant for the 1990s. While some of the papers are cast in a rather established research frame -enabling the use of regular academic routines - others are first attempts at delineating the contours of areas that are peripheral to what is often considered as the core of Industrial Organization. In their introductory chapter, the Editors set forth that a neglect of those areas may well relegate Industrial Organization to social irrelevancy. Therefore, it is hoped that the book will also contribute to a reflection on the main lines of Industrial Organization research for the 1990s -thus helping to create a healthy perspective for this part of economics at a time when macroeconomics is undergoing a severe crisis."

This book contains the papers that were presented in 1994 at the conference "Transaction Cost Economics and Beyond" organized by GRASP at the Tinbergen Institute in Rotterdam. It is generally recognized that transaction cost economics (TCE) is at the heart of the new theory of the firm. It is a well established research program with a well developed theoretical framework and good results in empirical testing. However, critics consider the approach too limited to understand the essential characteristics of such complex organizations like firms. Critics plea convincingly for the need to go beyond the original TCE framework and to develop a more pluralistic approach towards issues of economic organization. The new theory of the firm can only be further developed when scholars are willing to debate the issues in an open-minded, academic way. I thank the participants of the conference very much for putting so much effort in writing their papers and for their contribution to an open and stimulating discussion. It is my wish that this book contributes to the further deve lopment of the theory of the firm and that it helps us to a better understan ding of the complexities of economic organization. I would like to thank the following organizations for their support: the Tinbergen Institute, the "Vereniging Trust Fonds" of the Erasmus University, the Faculty of Economics of the Erasmus University, and GRASP (Group for Research and Advice in Strategic management and Industrial Policy)."

'Capitalism is Change'. This famous expression of Joseph Schumpeter was not only characteristic of his time, but is certainly relevant as we enter the twenty-first century. The transition of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the Asian crisis and European integration all characterise the continuous change of capitalism. What is the role of entrepreneurs in capitalist society? How effective are technological policies in changing institutions? Are the economic systems of the United States, Europe and Asia converging? In answer to these questions distinguished contributors - including Paul Krugman - focus on the theoretical foundations of the evolution of capitalist institutions. They apply these theoretical insights to the firm, sectors and economic systems. The combination of recent developments in theory with empirical studies will ensure that this book is essential reading for all those interested in evolutionary and institutional economics, political economy, technology policy, innovation and knowledge.

Wi-Fi has become the preferred means for connecting to the internet - at home, in the office, in hotels and at airports. Increasingly, Wi-Fi also provides internet access for remote communities where it is deployed by volunteers in community-based networks, by operators in 'hotspots' and by municipalities in 'hotzones'. This book traces the global success of Wi-Fi to the landmark change in radio spectrum policy by the US FCC in 1985, the initiative by NCR Corporation to start development of Wireless-LANs and the drive for an open standard IEEE 802.11, released in 1997. It also singles out and explains the significance of the initiative by Steve Jobs at Apple to include Wireless-LAN in the iBook, which moved the product from the early adopters to the mass market. The book explains these developments through first-hand accounts by industry practitioners and concludes with reflections and implications for government policy and firm strategy.

This book addresses critical issues in the governance of network industries in terms of institutional design, technology and policy.Infrastructures are subject to substantial readjustments of governance structures, often labeled as liberalization, privatization or reregulation. This affects all traditional infrastructure sectors including communications, energy, transport and water. This volume highlights and illustrates some of the major challenges for readjusting the governance of network industries from an economic, institutional, political and technological perspective. The three parts of the book address the institutional design of infrastructures, the role of technology in different sectors, and actor behavior. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective, this book will appeal to economists and political scientists with an interest in the management of network industries. It will also be of great value to policy-makers and regulators in the field.

Industrial Policies after 2000 investigates industrial policy during a time of deregulation, privatization and a growing interest in small government. This book brings together scholarship from different countries, different institutional contexts, and different theoretical perspectives. That includes the neoclassical market' approach, game theoretical models, and institutional economics.

This book contains the papers that were presented in 1994 at the conference "Transaction Cost Economics and Beyond" organized by GRASP at the Tinbergen Institute in Rotterdam. It is generally recognized that transaction cost economics (TCE) is at the heart of the new theory of the firm. It is a well established research program with a well developed theoretical framework and good results in empirical testing. However, critics consider the approach too limited to understand the essential characteristics of such complex organizations like firms. Critics plea convincingly for the need to go beyond the original TCE framework and to develop a more pluralistic approach towards issues of economic organization. The new theory of the firm can only be further developed when scholars are willing to debate the issues in an open-minded, academic way. I thank the participants of the conference very much for putting so much effort in writing their papers and for their contribution to an open and stimulating discussion. It is my wish that this book contributes to the further deve lopment of the theory of the firm and that it helps us to a better understan ding of the complexities of economic organization. I would like to thank the following organizations for their support: the Tinbergen Institute, the "Vereniging Trust Fonds" of the Erasmus University, the Faculty of Economics of the Erasmus University, and GRASP (Group for Research and Advice in Strategic management and Industrial Policy)."

This book contains the key-note lectures and a selection of papers that were presented at the 15th Conference of the European Association for Research in Industrial Econo mics (EARlE) held under the auspices of GRASP at Erasmus University Rotterdam in 1988, plus an introductory chapter by the Editors. Upon suggestions by the Editors, all papers have been revised for this book, some more extensively than others. Robin Marris has added to his lecture a synopsis of the contributions to the Round Table on the Micro-Macro Interface which he chaired during the Conference. The papers cover issues that seem to be both interesting and relevant for the 1990s. While some of the papers are cast in a rather established research frame -enabling the use of regular academic routines - others are first attempts at delineating the contours of areas that are peripheral to what is often considered as the core of Industrial Organization. In their introductory chapter, the Editors set forth that a neglect of those areas may well relegate Industrial Organization to social irrelevancy. Therefore, it is hoped that the book will also contribute to a reflection on the main lines of Industrial Organization research for the 1990s -thus helping to create a healthy perspective for this part of economics at a time when macroeconomics is undergoing a severe crisis.

This volume is concerned with the different schools within the discipline of economics (theoretical pluralism) and the relationship of economics to other disciplines, such as sociology, political science and philosophy (interdisciplinarity). It addresses the important implications of pluralism and interdisciplinarity for teaching economics at both undergraduate and graduate level and argues that the economics curriculum should pay equal attention to these new perspectives rather than concentrate on the traditional neoclassical mainstream. The distinguished contributors highlight the inherent challenges of presenting a combination of mainstream economics with more heterodox approaches in such a way that the student is not confused, but better understands the possibilities and limitations of different schools in economics. They go on to demonstrate how to apply these different approaches and show how a more inter-disciplinary approach can be followed once the boundaries of the economics discipline have been reached. The volume attempts to offer insights into the content of such a revised curriculum and the process of how to achieve this. This book will be required reading for every serious teacher and student of economics. It will also be invaluable to anyone who questions the validity of current economic orthodoxy.

Wi-Fi has become the preferred means for connecting to the internet - at home, in the office, in hotels and at airports. Increasingly, Wi-Fi also provides internet access for remote communities where it is deployed by volunteers in community-based networks, by operators in 'hotspots' and by municipalities in 'hotzones'. This book traces the global success of Wi-Fi to the landmark change in radio spectrum policy by the US FCC in 1985, the initiative by NCR Corporation to start development of Wireless-LANs and the drive for an open standard IEEE 802.11, released in 1997. It also singles out and explains the significance of the initiative by Steve Jobs at Apple to include Wireless-LAN in the iBook, which moved the product from the early adopters to the mass market. The book explains these developments through first-hand accounts by industry practitioners and concludes with reflections and implications for government policy and firm strategy.

This wide-ranging and highly accessible introduction presents both the key theories of Original Institutional Economics and New Institutional Economics in a balanced and intuitive way, reserving technical discussions mainly for appendices. The authors have assumed only minimal, principles-level, knowledge of economics on the part of the reader, making the text ideally suited for use as core reading in undergraduate courses as well as in graduate courses where the backgrounds of students are diverse.