Managing Institutional Evolution to Increase the Likelihood of Success: Examples of Guidance from Chinese History

Institutions are effective means by which human societies resolve conflicts over the use of scarce resources and maintain social stability. Institutions evolve as human knowledge improves or as the situation changes. To find suitable principles to guide institutional evolution, we reviewed examples...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social indicators research 2016-07, Vol.127 (3), p.1157-1167
Main Authors: Jiang, Chenchao, Shang, Di, Cao, Shixiong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Asian history
China
Chinese history
Cultural Pluralism
Economic Change
Economic development
Economic reform
Economics
Fear & phobias
Guidance
Historical analysis
Human Geography
Ideology
Institutions
Knowledge
Microeconomics
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Neutrality
Organizational Change
Political parties
Political systems
Politics
Private enterprise
Public Health
Publicity
Quality of Life Research
Social costs
Social Organizations
Social research
Social Sciences
Society
Sociology
Stability
Studies
Success
Uncertainty
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Summary:Institutions are effective means by which human societies resolve conflicts over the use of scarce resources and maintain social stability. Institutions evolve as human knowledge improves or as the situation changes. To find suitable principles to guide institutional evolution, we reviewed examples of historical institutional evolution in China to seek guidance for the evolution of other modern institutions. We found that gradualism, win–win paths, stability, neutrality, and cultural diversity are key principles for successful institutional evolution. However, fear of the uncertainty associated with institutional change and changing external conditions will affect the results of institutional change. Designers of new or revised institutions should use publicity and education, combined with gradualism (pilot tests), and measures to ensure neutrality and political stability, to increase acceptance of institutional evolution. In both politics and economics, institutional change can be a long evolutionary process, and it’s necessary to balance the changes in political institutions with economic development throughout the process.
ISSN:0303-8300
1573-0921
DOI:10.1007/s11205-015-1010-x