Understanding Institutional Diversity by Elinor Ostrom

Author:Elinor Ostrom [Ostrom, Elinor]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2009-11-13T00:00:00+00:00

Some Next Steps

We started this enterprise in an effort to define the concept of rules clearly. We found that in order to do this, we needed to clarify how rules were related to norms and strategies. As a result, we have learned a great deal about norms and strategies. Delving deeper into each of the components brought to light connections among these concepts, and the literature that focuses on them, which had not previously been linked. Moreover, fitting this all into a grammar helped us to catch inconsistencies and to further test and refine our understanding of each type of institutional feature and each component.

A larger question that this research effort must eventually address in order to return to the core concerns of political science is how an institutional grammar relates to a theory of knowledge and a theory of action (see V. Ostrom 1997). Our notion of delta parameters brings normative considerations into the analysis of action and consequences. This is not the same as incorporating concerns about the welfare of other actors into an individual’s calculus. The delta parameters arise from commitments to the norms and rules of a community, not from the incorporation of other’s payoffs into one’s own payoff.23 Our notion of OR ELSE brings institutional consequences into individual-level decisions. All of the institutional statements affect expectations about others’ behavior, which create stability in social life. The ADICO syntax illustrates the potentially cumulative manner in which institutional statements can affect individual expectations. Thus, improving our ability to analyze and to discuss the institutional statements prepares us for a more thorough analysis of institutions and human action. Attending to a grammar of institutions equips us to return to the core issues of institutions and political order with new effectiveness.

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