Approaches to Economic Institutionalism: A Theoretical Review of its Characteristics and Elements of Study

Abstract

Institutionalism emerges as a scientific construct of economics and sociology, becoming a fundamental element for achieving the development objectives of countries (Portes, 2009). The theoretical review of its approaches, characteristics and elements of study, based on the prominent works of Ronald Coase (1988), Douglas North (1990), Oliver Williamson (1988) and Elinor Ostrom (2009), are carried out with the objective of exposing from another perspective the theories of the Traditional Institutionalist approach (TI), the Economic Neo- Institutionalism (NE) and the New Institutional Economics (NEI). Through the description and exploration, qualitative and transversal, of primary and secondary sources, the convergent and differentiating elements of each approach are described, as well as the importance of their characteristics in the economic system. The study of Institutionalism allows the recognition of market failures, irrationality in the decisions of economic agents, agency problems in the implementation of public policies, the existence of transaction costs, taking as a reference the theories of Economic Institutionalism and its approaches.