This paper presents an economic institution which enabled eleventh-century traders to benefit from employing overseas agents despite the commitment problem inherent in these relations. Agency relations were governed by a coalition--an economic institution in which expectations, implicit contractual relations, and a specific information-transmission mechanism supported the operation of a reputation mechanism. Historical records and a simple game-theoretical model are used to examine this institution. The study highlights the interaction between social and economic institutions, the determinants of business practices, the nature of the merchants' law, and the interrelations between market and nonmarket institutions. Copyright 1993 by American Economic Association.

Contract enforceability and economic institutions in early trade: The Maghribi Traders' Coalition

The study of race and ethnic conflict historically has been hampered by inadequate and simplistic theories. I contend that the central problem of the various approaches to the study of racial phenomena is their lack of a structural theory of racism. I review traditional approaches and alternative approaches to the study of racism, and discuss their limitations. Following the leads suggested by some of the alternative frameworks, I advance a structural theory of racism based on the notion of racialized social systems. "The habit of considering racism as a mental quirk, as a psychological flaw, must be abandoned." -Frantz Fanon (1967:77) he area of race and ethnic studies lacks a _ sound theoretical apparatus. To complicate matters, many analysts of racial matters have abandoned the serious theorization and reconceptualization of their central topic: racism. Too many social analysts researching racism assume that the phenomenon is selfevident, and therefore either do not provide a definition or provide an elementary definition (Schuman, Steeh, and Bobo 1985; Sniderman and Piazza 1993). Nevertheless, whether implicitly or explicitly, most analysts regard racism as a purely ideological phenomenon.

Rethinking racism: toward a structural interpretation *

It is widely believed that current disparities in economic, political, and social outcomes reflect distinct institutions. Institutions are invoked to explain why some countries are rich and others poor, some democratic and others dictatorial. But arguments of this sort gloss over the question of what institutions are, how they come about, and why they persist. They also fail to explain why institutions are influenced by the past, why it is that they can sometimes change, why they differ so much from society to society, and why it is hard to study them empirically and devise a policy aimed at altering them. This 2006 book seeks to overcome these problems, which have exercised economists, sociologists, political scientists, and a host of other researchers who use the social sciences to study history, law, and business administration. It presents a multi-disciplinary perspective to study endogenous institutions and their dynamics.

/pdf/institutions-and-the-path-to-the-modern-economy-4dlla029fs.pdf

Institutions and the path to the modern economy

Investigates the "middleman minorities," a term coined by Blalock. Included in this classification are Jews in Europe, the Chinese in Southeast Asia, and Greeks in the United States. Previous works on this topic have explored the hostile reaction of communities to these ethnic groups, which leads these middlemen to strengthen group solidarity. These works have also considered the nature of societies in which middleman groups can be found. The theory presented in this analysis classifies so-called middleman minorities as sojourners – those who do not plan to settle permanently in the new location. A relational representation of the development and perpetuation of the middleman minority position is presented. The impact of sojourning is that there is a tendency toward thrift and a concentration in certain occupations. A further result of sojourning is high levels of internal solidarity. Middleman groups also utilize their strong family and ethnic ties for preferential economic treatment. As might be expected, there are often conflicts for middleman groups in their host countries. Some of the conflicts identified in this analysis are those with clients, competing businesses, and labor. Many middlemen do not return to their homeland despite their initial intention to make such a return. Political conditions in their homelands are one reason. Another reason for remaining is that they are able to achieve business success in the host country. (SRD)

A Theory of Middleman Minorities

Starting with the concept of "middleman minorities" developed by Blalock (1967:79-84), encompassing such groups as the Chinese in Southeast Asia, Jews in Europe, and Indians in East Africa, this paper presents a model which tries to explain the development and persistence of the form. A key variable is the orientation of immigrants towards their place of residence, with sojourning at first, and later a "stranger" orientation affecting the solidarity and economic activity of the ethnic group. These in turn arouse the hostility of the host society, which perpetuates a reluctance to assimilate completely, or "stranger" status.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2094409.pdf

A noted historian of Burma and a founder of the Burma Research Society, John Sydenham Furnivall (1878–1960) supported Burmese independence and freedom from colonial rule. However, he has been considered as Eurocentric and in favour of colonialism, in part because he saw it as a necessary stage in the improvement of certain societies. Stemming from a request in 1942 by the colonial government for Furnivall's views on reconstruction, this influential study was published in 1948. Using the Dutch East Indies as a case study for comparison, Furnivall assesses the effects of the different systems of colonial rule, framed within general surveys of their colonial policies and practices. The book is driven by the goal of consolidating and stabilising Burma's plural society, focusing on the importance of the welfare of the native population. Furnivall's Netherlands India (1939) has also been reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

Colonial policy and practice: a comparative study of Burma and Netherlands India

Colonial policy and practice

Introduction Territorial divisions Author's preface List of general references Glossary Measures and currency 1. Indonesia to 1600 2. The East India Company, 1600-1800 3. The years of confusion, 1795-1815 4. The years of uncertainty, 1815-1830 5. The culture system, 1830-1850 6. The transition to liberalism, 1850-1870 7. Liberalism, 1870-1900 8. Efficiency, welfare and autonomy 9. Administrative and political reforms 10. Economic progress 11. Social economy 12. Some effects of the crisis of 1929 13. Plural economy Indexes.

J. S. Furnivall

Papers

Colonial policy and practice: a comparative study of Burma and Netherlands India

Colonial policy and practice

Netherlands India: A Study of Plural Economy.

Colonial Policy and Practice: A Comparative Study of Burma and Netherlands India

Netherlands India: A Study of Plural Economy