@techreport{NBERw9608,
 title = "The New Comparative Economics",
 author = "Simeon Djankov and Edward L. Glaeser and Rafael La Porta and Florencio Lopez-de-Silane and Andrei Shleifer",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "9608",
 year = "2003",
 month = "April",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w9608",
 abstract = {In recent years, comparative economics experienced a revival, with a new focus on comparing capitalist economies. The theme of the new research is that institutions exert a profound influence on economic development. We argue that, to understand capitalist institutions, one needs to understand the basic tradeoff between the costs of disorder and those of dictatorship. We then apply this logic to study the structure of efficient institutions, the consequences of colonial transplantation, and the politics of institutional choice.},
}