ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a brief history and overview of the QCA approach. It also demonstrates the six steps used in the QCA research process. The chapter analyzes how economic institutions matter by using two complementary research methods: Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and quantitative regression. QCA is a comparative method that uses a logical process of systematically paired comparisons to derive the various pathways to a common outcome in a complex system. QCA uses the binary logic of Boolean algebra to identify common causal patterns within diverse configurations of social phenomena. The six steps in the QCA Research Process are: Identify positive and negative cases or outcomes, Identify relevant causal conditions, Resolve contradictions in the model, Find the solution formula and minimize, Assess the fit of the model, Determine necessary and/or sufficient conditions. Due to the complexity of the model explored in this research, the fsQCA software 2.0 will be used to reduce the solution formula.
