GENERALIZED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STATE AND PERFORMANCES OF INSTITUTIONS IN A SOCIETY

Apply

GENERALIZED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STATE AND PERFORMANCES OF INSTITUTIONS IN A SOCIETY

Journal Title: Економічна теорія та право - Year 2015, Vol 3, Issue 22

Abstract

The state and performances of societal institutions can be described using such generalized characteristics as institutional quality and institutional effectiveness. Effectiveness is a basic characteristic of institutions as regulators of economic actors’ behavior in a society. It determines and shows how strong the influence of a particular institution on the behavior of actors and assumes a wide range of possible values from the absolute ineffectiveness (a rule is declared and/or formalized in a certain legal document but does not affect the actual behavior of actors) to the absolute effectiveness (being commonly recognized by all actors as an informal norm of behavior and/or formalized in a corresponding legal document, the norm completely rules out all patterns of behavior inconsistent with it). The defining characteristics of the concept of institutional effectiveness are positivity, absoluteness, and neutrality. Institutional effectiveness just describes the actual state of institutions in the coordinates «has effect — has no effect» without using any comparisons or relative characteristics, and does not evaluate the performances of institutions. In contrast to the concept of institutional effectiveness, the concept of institutional quality is normative and relative. It is assessed not by neutral measurements but rather by qualitative valuebased judgments about the institutional performance and the effect it produces on the state of the society, its dynamics and directions of the development. This assessment reflects dominating in a society notions regarding the goals, tasks, and functions of economics, and mirrors the commonly accepted values and stereotypes in public opinion regarding what systems of access to society’s resources, participation in allocation of those resources, and distribution of the results produced by the economic system are socially just. Effective institutions are not necessarily high-quality institutions. Moreover, an ineffective system of institutions which impedes the societal progress can be reproduced over a long period of time due to the support of status quo by some interest groups. At the same time, high-quality institutions must necessarily be effective because without satisfying this condition they will be unable to play the role of stimulating factors in the development of a society. Short Abstract for an article Abstract. In the paper, the main criteria for assessing the state and performances of societal institutions are identified. The definitions of concepts of institutional effectiveness and institutional quality are given and the relevance of using these concepts as generalized characteristics of an institutional system is substantiated.

Authors and Affiliations

І. В. ТИМОШЕНКОВ

Keywords

EP ID EP222507
DOI -
Views 99
Downloads 0