Does Douglass North Offer an original research agenda to analyse the relationships between education and economic performance?

Abstract

Douglass North offers an interesting alternative when he suggests that institutions and the resulting organisations play an essential role in explaining the economic performance of nations. Among these organisations, as an extension of North’s work, we find educational systems and in particular university systems. According to the type of institutions, these organisations act either towards increased competition, innovation, the search for productivity and entrepreneurship, or on the contrary towards rent seeking activities, thus discouraging productive activities.