The Market for Institutions

What types of institutions do people create to provide the products they demand? Historically, the world has seen three types of institutions: private, public and non-profit. Economic theory provides little guidance as to how and when different types of institutions are created to serve the products and services which people want and need. Are hospitals better kept public? Should churches remain as non-profits? Do household prefer buying their cars from private entities? Any answers to these questions require addressing endless nuances and complete solutions are difficult to establish without partial tradeoffs. This work introduces a phenomenon, called institutional substitution, to provide alternative lens on the origins of organizations.

Paper – Draft

Presentation – Slides