From habits to institutions: analytical and methodological propositions in the Thostein Veblen Institutional Economy

Abstract

In the last years, the notion “institution” has been increased in the economic and development researches. However, there is little research on Original Institutional Economics (OIE), particularly the evolutionary aspect of institution from Thorstein Veblen. Therefore, there is lack of understanding from theoretical and analytical aspects, which is based on interdisciplinary elements. Accordingly, this article aims to discuss Thorstein Veblen's institutional economy and to present analytical and methodological ideas on changes of institutions. The main concepts from Original Institutional Economics literature´s are centred on Geoffrey Hodgson contributions, particularly the notion as “reconstitutive downward causation or effects”, where individuals interact and produce new habits from agency-structure. The understanding that institutions operate in multilevel, whose changes are facilitated by social networks, might be help to explain the changes of rules, especially in the reality of family agriculture and food processed. However, this ontology proposal is on the initial stage. This process - which can be configured as a proposal for the updating Veblenian institutional analysis, requires researchers to carry out analytical cuts: combinating qualitative and quantitative techniques, in order to capture the heterogeneity and dynamics of collective habits.