Institutional Variety and Ayres-Veblen “Lag” Implications for Selection and Development 2021 Smita Srinivas.pdf

该【Institutional Variety and Ayres-Veblen “Lag” Implications for Selection and Development 2021 Smita Srinivas 】是由【玉柱儿】上传分享，文档一共【14】页，该文档可以免费在线阅读，需要了解更多关于【Institutional Variety and Ayres-Veblen “Lag” Implications for Selection and Development 2021 Smita Srinivas 】的内容，可以使用淘豆网的站内搜索功能，选择自己适合的文档，以下文字是截取该文章内的部分文字，如需要获得完整电子版，请下载此文档到您的设备，方便您编辑和打印。:.
JournalofEconomicIssues
ISSN:(Print)(Online)Journalhomepage:
InstitutionalVarietyandAyres-Veblen“Lag”:
ImplicationsforSelectionandDevelopment
SmitaSrinivas
Tocitethisarticle:SmitaSrinivas(2021)InstitutionalVarietyandAyres-Veblen“Lag”:
ImplicationsforSelectionandDevelopment,JournalofEconomicIssues,55:2,293-305,DOI:
.1907153
Tolinktothisarticle:/
©2021,TheAuthor(s).Publishedwith
licensebyTaylor&FrancisGroup,LLC.
Publishedonline:17Jun2021.
Submityourarticletothisjournal
Articleviews:208
Viewrelatedarticles
ViewCrossmarkdata
FullTerms&Conditionsofaccessandusecanbefoundat
?journalCode=mjei20:.
JOURNALOFECONOMICISSUES

.1907153
The2021ClarenceAyresScholar
InstitutionalVarietyandAyres-Veblen“Lag”:
ImplicationsforSelectionandDevelopment
SmitaSrinivas
Abstract:Firmsandnationsattempttobuildtheirtechnologicalcapabilitiesamidstco-

resultinfragmentedknowledgeandlearningsystemswithnoeasyadaptation,clearsocial
connection,
innovativebutofferanuncertainfutureenvironmentinwhichindividualsandflrmsact,
-
Veblenianconceptofinstitutional‘lag’
policyisroutinelyusedconceptuallyandadministrativelyasaselectiondevicetocull
suchinstitutionalvariety,forexample,re-steeringthehealthindustry’sknowledgeand

thusoffervaluableframingcontextstobuildinferenceandjudgmentsaboutevolutionary

isemployedhowever,‘lag’and‘progress’
concludesthatbothindustrialanalysisandeconomics’philosophicalfoundationsmay
benefltfromco-evolutionaryandcombinatorialapproaches,andinsightsfromanon-
Westernperspective.
Keywords:technology,institutionalvariety,lag,economicdevelopment,ClarenceAyres,
ThorsteinVeblen
JELClassificationCodes:B40,B25,D83,L52,O12,O33

progress,forindividualandgroupbehaviorandadaptation,andforthesourcingofknowledge

theirnorms,rules,standards,structure,governance,anddistinctivefeatures,suchasahigh
percentageofown-account,piece-rate,orcasualworkers,orvariationintypesofknowledge
,byandlarge,developmenteconomicstendstoapproachsuchinstitutional
varietyfromthevantagepointofquasi-optimizationandorderedconvergenceofeconomic

andtheDevelopment,PolicyandPracticegroup(DPP)attheOpenUniversity,MiltonKeynes,
2015biennialMyrdalPrizeforthemonographMarketMenagerie:HealthandDevelopmentinLateIndustrialStates(Stanford
UniversityPress,2012).SheservesinseniorpolicyadvisorycapacitiesandholdsadditionalappointmentsattheNational
CentreforBiologicalSciences-TataInstituteofFundamentalResearch(NCBS-TIFR),India,andtheDepartmentofScience,
Technology,Engineering,
(ESRC)
(UK)isgratefullyacknowledgedintheInnovationforCancerCareinAfrica(ICCA)project(GrantreferenceES/S000658/1).

editorialassistancebyPritikaRao,ICCAFellow,andlogisticalsupportfromICCApartner,NationalCentreforBiological
Sciences-TataInstituteofFundamentalResearch(NCBS-TIFR)aregratefullyacknowledged.
293
©2021,TheAuthor(s).PublishedwithlicensebyTaylor&FrancisGroup,
AttributionLicense(/),whichpermitsnon-commercialre-use,distribution,andreproductioninanymedium,providedthe
:.
294SmitaSrinivas

varietyassynonymouswithcreativity,thebedrockofinnovationandcentraltoeconomic
development;laboreconomicsconsidersthat“informal”workcanbe“formalized,”andsome
industrialpolicyscholarsareconcernedwithselectiveintervention,even“pickingwinners.”
Manygrowththeoriesassumevarietyortreatitasanatural,
aneconomistintheSchumpeteriantradition,varietybroadlycanbecharacterizedas“the
numberofactors,activities,andobjectsnecessarytocharacterizetheeconomicsystem”
(Saviotti2001,120),andtherelationshipbetweeninnovationandeconomicdevelopment
manifestsinproductivitygrowthinexistingsectorsandthevarietyofnewproductsand
sectors(Saviotti2001,120).Innovationtheoriestreatvarietyfromanex-postperspective,
,thesystemsofinstitutionscannotrelyonex-
postanalysisofindustrializedeconomiestodirectdevelopment(ArocenaandSutz2000)
,isinstitutionalvariety“good”
fordevelopment,andshouldsuchvarietydisappearovertimeorwithincomeconvergence
(Srinivas2020)?
InstitutionalVarietyfromCatch-UptoUncertainty
Afocusoninstitutionalvarietyoffersuspotentialconnectionstotheoriginal
institutionaleconomics(OIE).AsIhaveargued(Srinivas2012,2016,2020),development
economicstendstoapproachsuchinstitutionalvarietyfromthevantagepointof
instrumentalquasi-optimizationovertimeandasorderedconvergenceofeconomicstructure
andinstitutions,whetherthroughdominantinstitutionssuchasmarketswheresocietiesof
onekindbecomemorelikeanother,orbecauseprioritiesofsocialrelevanceareflltered

theeconomist,somenon-marketinstitutionssuchasvaluesandsocialcustommayalsobe
prominentintheiranalysis,forexampleafocusonsomeethnicgroupsinspeciflctypes
ofbusinessactivity,orcontractsandintellectualpropertyestablishedorenforcedthrough
familial,linguistic,orgeographictiesoftrustratherthanarms-
microeconomics,however,avarietyofsuchinstitutionalcombinationscanpotentiallyresult
,
inordertoconceptuallyprogress,moreexplicitvaluepropositionsmayhelpflrmsorother
organizationstoanticipatestateactiononindustrialpolicieswhichcanpruneinstitutional
varietyandreduceuncertainty(PapaioannouandSrinivas2019).Suchuncertaintyabout
thefutureenvironmentinwhichflrmsactintheabsenceofaclearsenseofinstitutional
design,knowledgepriorities,oranticipatedsocialprogress,candirect,orparalyzethesearch
andlearningwhicharecriticaltobuildingtechnologicalcapabilities.
Thus,thereremainimportanttheorydifferencesandpolicyconsequencesinthe
epistemologyandmethodsof“lateindustrial”developmentwhereinstitutionalvarietyis

technologicalcapabilitiesarebeingbuilt,butalsoalackofclarityofwhatinferencesand
judgmentstosettleonfromsuchphenomena(Srinivas2020).CantheAyres-Veblenian
conceptsofinstitutional“lag”informthisdevelopmentalchallengeofinstitutionalvariety?
AsmuchaseconomicsisrootedinEuropeanhistoryandconvergenceconcerns,isthere
aphilosophicalchallenge—whetherfromJudeo-ChristianandGreekphilosophy—to
reconcilingthevarietyoforganizationsandinstitutionsvisibleinmanycountriesasthey:.
InstitutionalVarietyandAyres-Veblen“Lag”:ImplicationsforSelectionandDevelopment295
buildtechnologicalcapabilitiesandexperimentwiththegovernanceofsuchindustrial
systems?
Development“direction”isdifficulttodefendwithoutassumingthatsocietieswilllose
theirvarietyovertimeorconvergetosimilarmeasuresoforganizationalformandoutcomes
(.,thegrowthofmid-sizeflrmsandconvergenceofmanufacturingvalueaddition).In
thisgap,alternatesystemsoflogicwhicharepreciseabouttypesofperceptionandburdens
ofproofmayhelpstrengtheneconomics’
(ofthesixHinduSchoolsofphilosophy),orotherpre-Cartesianperspectivesonreason
andconsciousnesscanprovidecontexttoindividualperceptionandaction,including
collective“direction”(Srinivas2020).Whenasystemic,co-evolutionaryapproachisused
tostudytechnologicalcapabilities,intermediateheuristicsandmethodswillrequireexplicit

“lag”isthereforeanopportunitytoenrichthephilosophyofdevelopmenteconomics
withinsightsfromaVeblen-Ayresperspective(seealsoAyres1952;Dugger1980;Waller
1982;Hall,Lacasa,andGünther2011).Contemporarypolicyenvironments,inwhichthe
authorisinvolved,routinelyuseindustrialpolicyconceptuallyandadministrativelyasa
-steeringofthehealthindustryduringCovid-19,
theorganizationofvaccineR&D,andapproachestojoblossorinformalityinlabortheory

andvaluableinterpretivecontextsforsituatingthecontributionsoftheOIEscholarstothe
microeconomicsofindustrialpolicyandthedirectionoftechnologicalchange.
ThetechnologicalcapabilitiesofcountriesduringtheCOVID-19pandemichave

medicalterms,theindustrialbackgroundtothisclinicalforeground,especiallyinconditions
ofhighuncertainty,isnoteworthy(Srinivas,Prasad,andRao2020).Thisvarietyhasbrought
intosharpfocusandovershorttimelines,theinstitutionalchangesthatsomesocietiescan
sustainordirectsuchashowtheyrespondtodeepuncertaintyinducedbythepandemic
andspeciflcally,theirabilitytoconsolidateastrongtechnologicalresponse:supportsfora
COVID-19vaccine,theproductionofCOVID-19diagnostickits,thescalingupofclean
roomfacilitiesandsettinguppathologylabs,ortheabilityofnaturalsciencetoappropriately
connectvirology,populationdemographics,,
troublesomelinkstozoonosesimpactsinfoodsupplycontinue,asdofoodsupplyresiliency
challengesinalock-,Senegal,Ghana,Nigeria,orSouthAfricahave
organizedtheirresponseindifferentways,callingonvariedindustrialhistoriesandcentral
R&Dinitiatives,normsoforganizationaccountability,andintensityoflocalmanufacturing.
Inthissense,the“adjustment”lagofsocio-culturalorotherformstotechnological
—atypeofsocialevolution,notnecessarily
“progressive”—occurswhensocialnorms,customs,rules,laws(.,theinstitutions)transform.
Intheprocess,,forexample,isanorganizationbut
alsoconstitutesarangeofinstitutions—contracts,policies,technicalstandards,andlaws—

andorganizations,eitherthroughdominantinstitutionssuchasmarkets,orthroughother
-market
institutionstoosuchasvaluesandsocialcustomcanmanifestinparticularinstitutionssuchas
marriageorreligion,seeminglyunconnectedtotechnologicalcapabilities,buthavingimpact
onflrms,toshapetheirservices,theirpolicyresponsiveness,theirproducts,ortheirmarket:.
296SmitaSrinivas
,culturalattributescontinuouslyshapepreferences,products,
andservices,mostnoticeablyintheindustriesoffood,inmaterialsuse,inconstruction,or
healthcare,butalsoindeflningwhatisacceptableproprietaryorcollectiveknowledge.
Policiescanthereforegenerateimportantselec