Generating Predictability: Institutional Analysis and Design

Human behavior is infinitely complex and unpredictable, the result of thousands of interactions between predispositions, external factors and physical and cognitive processes. Drawing on a wide range of disciplines including psychology, economics, and sociological and political studies, this book develops a coherent and accessible theory for explaining the unpredictability of individual behavior. The author then highlights the danger of institutional reforms undermining the very capacity to generate predictability which is so central to their success.

Christoph Engel is Director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Research on Collective Goods in Bonn and Professor of Law at the University of Bonn. He has published in both German and English.