Institutions, Politics and Culture: a Polanyian Perspective on Economic Change

Presents the perspective of philosopher Karl Polanyi on economic change. Works of Polanyi on the topic; Analysis of pre-modern economies by Polanyi. According to Jeffrey Nugent, institutions make social life fairly predictable by restricting some actions and providing incentives for other actions. The article discusses Polanyi's book "The Great Transformation," the self-regulating market economy, scarcity, individual choice, economic development in India, trust in India's corporate sector, new institutional economics, and distribution of private property rights.