Institutions Matter?

• Published in: Government and opposition (London) Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 527 - 540
• Main Author: Przeworski, Adam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Blackwell Publishing 01.10.2004; Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: Comparative politics; Contrafactuals; Democracy; Dictatorship; Economic Development; Economic growth rate; Government; Inference; Institutionalism; Institutions; Methodology; Political candidates; Political regimes; Political science; Political Systems; Political theory; Power relations; Universalism; Voter fraud; Voting paradox

The main methodological problem in assessing the impact of political institutions on any kind of performance stems from the possibility that institutions may be endogenous. As a result, institutions cannot be matched for the conditions under which they function. Inferences from such non-experimental...