Articles

The foundation of contemporary economics: James Buchanan and constitutional economics

Henrik Egbert — Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Teodor Sedlarski — Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski
Published: 01.01.2018

Abstract

We provide a short introduction into the concept of Constitutional Economics. This approach is a subfield within Public Choice Theory. Public Choice and Constitutional Economics are closely related to the name of James Buchanan who, together with his colleagues, initiated Public Choice Theory in the 1950’s and Constitutional Economics in the 1980’s. The latter emphasizes the choice of these rules, e.g. the constitutional framework of a society that structures social order. The choice of rules is modeled as acts of exchange in the political process.

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