Modelling of institutional changes in transition countries -the gap between the theory and practice

Abstract

The first part discusses the consequences of the deficit of real institutional changes in post-socialist SEE countries, and their substitutions by the various anti-developmental institutional imitations, which essentially had the character of alternative quasi-institutions and were in a function of enrichment for the privileged individuals. It points to the importance of neo-institutional economic theories (NET), which provide a sound grounds and recommendations for explanation of the imitation changes, which had anti-institutional and anti-development character. Theoretical explanations of antiinstitutional changes confirm the conclusion that real institutional changes can not be developed on its opposites, in the conditions of feigning the economic freedom and democracy, the governement stability, and the accompaning development of social pathology. The present paper is dedicated to the formation of a theory of institutional modelling that includes principles and ideas that reflect the laws of societal development within the framework of institutional economic theory. The scientific principles of institutional modelling, increasingly postulated by the classics of institutional theory, are discussed. Scientific ideas concerning institutional modelling are proposed on the basis of the results of original design, formalisation and measurement of economic institutions. Applied aspects of the institutional theory of modelling are considered. © 2017, Economic Laboratory for Transition Research. All rights reserved. ; 15-18-00049 ; The study was financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation at Udmurt State University (Izhevsk, Russia), project No. 15-18-00049.