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Essay / Factors that affect the decision-making of economic agents
Institutions (often defined as anything that affects the decision-making of economic agents) are considered to be of primary importance to an economy seeking to achieve growth sustainable economy. According to North (1991, p. 6), one of the major roles of institutions is to “reduce uncertainty by establishing a stable structure for human interaction.” This is important because it encourages economic agents to participate in socially productive activities such as investment and trade. It is widely accepted that these measures are necessary for sustainable economic growth. In particular, good institutions can manifest themselves in the form of, but not limited to, intellectual property rights and good governance. They can increase the advantages accrued by countries with favorable factor endowments. Examples of regions that have experienced sustained economic growth as a result of this are Britain and the United States. Britain benefited significantly from the presence of intellectual property rights, born from the “Glorious Revolution”. After the revolution, a Parliament with executive rights was born. Before the revolution, the Crown had complete control of the economy. According to North and Weingast (1989, p. 812), the Crown often expropriated citizens' wealth, whether by seizing property or reducing "established industries to monopolies under the guise of technical improvements." (W. Price (1906), cited by North and Weingast (1989, p.819)). Expanding on this last point, the Crown would grant patents to companies for minor technological improvements, thereby eliminating other companies in the industry from the market. The granting of the monopoly acted as a tax and thus reduced the potential profit from the investment. People were opposed to the idea of an inno...... paper...... The United States was a major producer of many minerals in the early 20th century. This is not a coincidence. Rather, it depends on state governance. The state has not claimed any discovered minerals. Instead, he gave full ownership to those who founded the deposit. This encouraged people to look for deposits (hence why they worked together). Additionally, the state funded geological studies while supporting the results and disseminating them to others. David and Wright (1997, p. 224) argue that this played a “critical role” in the successful development of the American mining industry. The institution of collective learning allowed the United States to benefit significantly from its favorable factor endowments. The success might not have been as significant if the companies kept their secrets to themselves or if the state demanded a reduction in all discovered deposits..