Measuring Institutions

Sergey Afontsev

Measuring Institutions

Empirical research on the role of institutions in economic development depends critically on the availability of reliable measures of institutional quality. Much controversy concerning recent results of ‘institutions matter’ studies is caused by criticism toward institutional variables used in econometric models. School participants will be presented with basic methods of measuring economic (Lecture 1) and political & legal (Lecture 2) institutions. Discussion of strengths and weaknesses of the respective institutional measures is followed by critical assessment of empirical works in institutional economics and suggestions concerning the optimal choice of institutional variables for econometric exercises.

Suggested Reading

Voigt S. How (Not) to Measure Institutions // MAGKS Joint Discussion Paper Series in Economics, 2009, no.37-2009 (

Woodruff Ch. Measuring Institutions. In: Rose-Ackerman S (ed.). International Handbook on the Economics of Corruption. Cheltenham: EdwardElgar, 2006, p.105–124 (

Literature

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