This book explores institutional change and economic behaviour by examining the transition process in the former socialist countries that joined the EU in 2004, looking at the growth occurring in China, offering a historical perspective on economic underdevelopment in the Middle East, and discussing the neo-classical paradigm.

Introduction; J.Kornai, L.Mátyás & G.Roland The Great Transformation of Central-Eastern Europe: Success and Disappointment; J.Kornai Transformation in China; Y.Qian & J.Wu Institutional Causes of Economic Underdevelopment in the Middle East: An Historical Perspective; T.Kuran Understanding the Great Changes in the World: Gaining Ground and Losing Ground since World War II; E.S.Phelps The Schumpeterian Approach to Education and Growth; P.Aghion Analyzing Institutional Change; M .Aoki Fast-Moving and Slow-Moving Institutions; G.Roland The Endowment Effect and the Origin of Private Property; H.Gintis The Complex Evolution of a Simple Traffic Convention: The Functions and Implications of Habit; G.M.Hodgson & T.Knudsen Implications of Behavioural Game Theory for Neoclassical Economic Theory; H.Gintis A Little Behavioralism Can Go a Long Way; K.Binmore & J.Swierzbinski