News: Elinor Ostrom awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
Fall 2009
Documents for SOS3508 Institutions and institutional design
  • Class starting Thursday 27 August 14:15 in seminar room D101
    Reading list and requirements before oral examinations.
    Schedule of lectures fall 2009

    • NEW Literature
    Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, commissioned by Nicolas Sarkozy, and cochaired by Joseph Stiglitz, Amartya Sen, and Jean-Paul Fitoussi. See here

    On the Origin of Cooperation, by Elizabeth Pennisi
    Science 4 September 2009: 1196-1199.
    How did cooperation evolve when cheaters - those who benefit without making sacrifices - can threaten its stability? In the ninth essay in Science's series in honor of the Year of Darwin, Elizabeth Pennisi discusses the genetic nuts and bolts of cooperation in systems from microbes to humans.
    See here

    Positive Interactions Promote Public Cooperation, by David G. Rand, Anna Dreber, Tore Ellingsen, Drew Fudenberg, and Martin A. Nowak
    Science 4 September 2009: 1272-1275.
    Reward is as good as punishment to promote cooperation, costs less, and increases the share out of resources up for grabs.
    See here

  • 27 August
    Introduction: Ostrom Ch 1-4
    In addition: some notes on world problems based on Diamond, de Soto, and Easterly
    In addition: some notes on Searle's 'The construction of social reality'

  • 3 September
    Notes on Explanations and Mechanisms: Elster Ch 1-3

  • 10 September
    Notes on Mind and Action: Elster Ch 4-14

  • 17 September
    Notes on Elster Ch 15-17
    Notes on Stinchcombe 1997
    Notes on North 1990
    Notes on North 2005 Ch 1-6 Understanding the process of economic change I

  • 24 September
    Notes on North 2005 Ch 7-13 Understanding the process of economic change II

    • 1 October
    Notes on Rothstein 2005 Social traps and the problem of trust
    Notes on Henrich and Henrich 2007 Why humanns cooperate

  • 8 October
    Notes on Ostrom 2005 Ch 5 A grammar of institutions
    Seminar with Tomas Moe Skjølsvold:
    One Size Fits All? Designer Institutions: Lessons from Two Flawed Attempts in Malawi

  • 15 October
    Due to examinations in SOS3001 class from 1415-1600 is cancelled. We start at
    16:15 Seminar with B.E. Flø Uformelle institusjonar i norske bygder

  • 22 October
    Class presentation from Elster Ch 18-22
    Notes on Ostrom 2005 Ch 6&7 Classification of rules

  • 29 October
    Class presentation from Elster Ch 23-26
    Notes on Ostrom 2005 Ch 8&9 Working with rules

  • 5 November
    No class this day

  • 12 November
    Notes on Elster Ch18-26 Explaining Social Behaviour
    Seminar discussion on Elster Ch 18-26
    On writing term papers: Questions?

  • 19 November
    Discussion of Reinert and Diamond
    For those that did not read Reinert A summary of Reinert by Steenkiste
    For those that did not read Diamond A review of Diamond by Desowitz
    Any other questions to discuss?