Hi Robert,
Eric Rasmusen from our BEPP department might have some insight into
this.  His email address is [log in to unmask] and he said it's fine
for you to contact him directly.  He also  mentioned a paper he has
done:  "He might find this paper useful tho:   "Norms in Law and
Economics." 
Richard McAdams and I have written a survey for the forthcoming Handbook
of Law and Economics. Available in wordperfect and  pdf
(http://www.rasmusen.org/papers/norms.pdf)."

You might also try Janet Near, who is a sociologist in the Management
Department here.  Her email address is [log in to unmask]
I hope this helps.
Laura

-----Original Message-----
From: Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB) Talk
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Robert Bird
Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 10:22 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: popularity of researching "institutions"

Hi everyone,
 
I've heard casually from a few business colleagues (finance mostly) of
research into "institutions" as a currently hot research topic.  I
haven't obtained more detail, but I am guessing that institutions must
mean at least in part legal institutions.  I think this trend is in the
context of empirical scholarship as well.
 
I am working on a strategy law paper and I want to make the point that
law as a strategic resource has attracted recent interest in part
because of this rise in the "institutional" research trend.
 
Can anyone clarify what this trend is, if it even exists, and maybe just
maybe point me to an article or two that talks about it?
 
Thanks,
 
Robert
 
Robert C. Bird
Assistant Professor
University of Connecticut
email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
View my research on my SSRN Author page: 
http://ssrn.com/author=56987 <http://ssrn.com/author=56987>