Institutional Analysis and Praxis : The Social Fabric Matrix Approach

There has never been a better time for the social fabric matrix. As this book is being published, the idea that unregulated market capitalism leads to the best of all possible worlds has been thoroughly discredited. A series of economic and social problems have come to the forefront of national discussion and policy debates. There is now widespread acceptance that human activity, particularly the consu- tion of nonrenewable energy resources, has contributed to global warming. The lack of oversight of the financial industry encouraged reckless practices that endangered the stability of the entire financial system, prompting bailout efforts based on the fragile interdependence of the financial and economic systems. The shortcomings of our health care system are increasingly evident, including the growing number of uninsured citizens, the difficulties for businesses in offering health insurance, and the effects of health and health care on the ability of individuals and families to maintain a decent standard of living. Perhaps the best illustration of a complex system that cries out for coordinated policy-making is in the critical area of energy, where public and private decisions on energy policy not only have direct effects on consumer costs, but also have effects on global warming, local ecosystems, int- national relations, the health of our citizens, and the sustainability of companies and communities. In short, there is growing recognition of the interdependence of the economic system with the environment and the broader institutions of society.

The Social Fabric Matrix Approach (SFM-A) is a rigorous and holistic methodology for undertaking policy-relevant, complex systems research. This book contains both extensive applications of the SFM-A to contemporary issues and chapters that embed applied research in relevant theoretical, philosophical, and methodological frameworks. It offers a balance of applications through case studies across regions and topics that span areas of finance, development, education, and environment, to name a few. This book creates new ways of using the SFM and forges previously unexplored connections between institutional economics and other areas of study such as financial markets, micro credit, political economy and sustainable development, thus contextually refining the SFM-A. This book complements F. Gregory Hayden’s Policymaking for a Good Society: The Social Fabric Matrix Approach to Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation.

"Institutional Analysis and Praxis: The Social Fabric Matrix Approach… is interesting and thought-provoking.  The book should fill or create a good size niche in modeling the effects of economic and social institutions on development, in part because it includes values directly in the model." – Glen Atkinson, University of Nevada, Reno

"The book is concerned with a demonstration of the methodological and analytical importance of the Social Fabric Matrix (SFM) and its application to a wide variety of real-world policy problems.  As such, it is the first book of its kind, drawing on the contributions of economic scholars who are doing pioneering work in the application of the SFM to economic policy problems.  It is, in short, a ground-breaking enterprise." – Paul Bush, CSU Fresno

" [This book] offers a fresh perspective, as this is the first contribution that would underscore Hayden’s contribution… The editors have assembled one of the finest collections of contemporary Institutionalist thinkers thatappears to have been assembled." – John Hall, Portland State University