The role of culture and social norms in theories of institutional change: The case of agricultural cooperatives

Little is understood about the relationship between norms and economic change and the propositions made by social scientists are often conflicting in nature. This chapter offers a conceptual basis for understanding why economic historian Douglass C. North and his theoretical counterpart economist Friedrick Hayek regard normative change as a prolonged process when others, such as political scientist Robert Axelrod, stress how quickly norms can change (North, 1990; Hayek, 1960; Axelrod, 1986).