Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Constitutional economics:Constitutional economics examines the relationship between economic systems and their underlying political and legal frameworks. It focusses on the (economic) effects of alternative constitutional rules and the emergence and modification of constitutional rules. See also Constitution, Laws, Law, Economy._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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James M. Buchanan on Constitutional Economics - Dictionary of Arguments
Boudreaux I 83 Constitutional economics/Buchanan/Boudreaux/Holcombe: „Constitutional political economy is a research program that directs inquiry to the working properties of rules, and institutions within which individuals interact, and the process through which those rules and institutions are chosen or come into being.“(1) Choice: We cannot have everything we want, so we must choose how to allocate scarce resources to best satisfy our many needs and desires. Economics excels at shedding light on the ways that individuals make choices when subject to different sorts of “constraints” and opportunities - that is, different sorts and mixes of sticks and carrots. Rules/Buchanan: It is therefore no surprise that James Buchanan came to use economics to shed light on the process of choosing among rules, which by their very nature are constraints that determine the opportunities open to individuals. Rules are constraints that we impose on ourselves, as distinct from limits on the availability of resources and other such constraints that are imposed on us by nature. Institutions: The whole set of such self-imposed rules is often called “institutions.” Many of these rules arise naturally in the course of human interaction. An example is the expectation that parents will care for their young children. Other of these rules, however, are consciously designed and imposed. Most obviously here are legislation and public policies. These rules affect the opportunities that each of us has and, thus, the choices that each of us make. Either way, whether a rule arises “naturally” or is designed and imposed, it can be changed. Boudreaux I 84 Constitutional economics: Buchanan observed that economic analysis, for the most part, examines the choices people make subject to given rules. Constitutional economics, in contrast, examines the choice of rules themselves. Buchanan calls decisions on what those rules should be “constitutional decisions,” while decisions that people make within some set of rules are called “post-constitutional decisions.” Using a sports analogy, Buchanan likens constitutional rules to the rules of the game, and post-constitutional decisions to those that are made within the rules of the game. Constitutional decisions are the decisions that determine the rules under which the game is played. >Rules/Buchanan. 1. J.M. Buchanan. (1990).,“The domain of constitutional economics“. Constit Polit Econ 1, 1–18 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02393031_____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
EconBuchan I James M. Buchanan Politics as Public Choice Carmel, IN 2000 Boudreaux I Donald J. Boudreaux Randall G. Holcombe The Essential James Buchanan Vancouver: The Fraser Institute 2021 Boudreaux II Donald J. Boudreaux The Essential Hayek Vancouver: Fraser Institute 2014 |
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