Institutions Always 'Mattered'

PART I: OVERVIEW OF BOOK 1. Introduction 2 . Key Aspects of The New Institutional Economics (NIE) PART II: ECONOMIC HISTORY OF RAGUSA/DUBROVNIK 3. History of Ragusa in Eastern Mediterranean Context 4. Economic Evolution and Rise to Prosperity 5. Quantifying Ragusan Prosperity and Disproportionate East Mediterranean Role 6. The Relative Decline after Vasco da Gama Circumnavigation PART III. PRUDENT MACROECONOMIC POLICIES 7. The System of Governance , Wise Policies , and Market-Friendly Institutions 8. Macro Policies 1: Fiscal Probity the Starting Point for Good Institutions 9. Macro Policies 2: Monetary and Financial Prudence , Minimal Public Debt PART IV. GROWTH-PROMOTING INSTITUTIONS 10. Institutions Friendly to Commerce- in today's jargon 'Ease of Doing Business' 11. An Open Legal System with Effective Rule-of-Law 12. 'Sufficient ' Social Fairness Provides Stability 13. Maximal Diplomacy with Minimal Military PART V. CONCLUSIONS 14.How Unique Was Ragusa? Some Comparison with Venice and Others 15. A Successful Case of Institutional Optimality Before its Time: What lessons for the 21st. century?