Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
England’s Glorious Revolution of 1688 underscores the need for an independent judiciary, an open market, and institutions that protect private property rights. England underwent an economic revolution when changes to the rules governing the behavior of the sovereign meant the government could no longer take private property without consequences. Yet even in modern times, not all nations have learned the lesson. To innovate and flourish, a credible commitment to protect property rights is required, and that requires institutions to check those in power.
For more information, visit the PolicyEd page here: policyed.org/unarchived/credible-commitments-key-economic-progress/video
Additional resources:
Read “Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in Seventeenth-Century England,” by Douglass C. North and Barry R. Weingast. Available here: hvr.co/3wFIzIg
Read “Constitutional Stability and the Deferential Court” by Sonial Mittal and Barry R. Weingast. Available here: hvr.co/3wDtSpd
Read “Legal Order: Lessons from Ancient Athens,” by Federica Carugati, Gillian K. Hadfield, and Barry R. Weingast. Available here: bit.ly/3wcBFdC
In “Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History,” Douglass North and Barry Weingast integrate the problem of violence into a larger framework of social science and history, showing how economic and political behaviors are closely linked. Available here: hvr.co/3xjsSaM
Visit policyed.org to learn more.
- Subscribe to PolicyEd’s YouTube channel: bit.ly/PolicyEdSub
- Follow PolicyEd on Twitter: bit.ly/PolicyEdTwit
- Follow PolicyEd on Instagram: bit.ly/PolicyEdInsta
England’s Glorious Revolution of 1688 underscores the need for an independent judiciary, an open market, and institutions that protect private property rights. England underwent an economic revolution when changes to the rules governing the behavior of the sovereign meant the government could no longer take private property without consequences. Yet even in modern times, not all nations have learned the lesson. To innovate and flourish, a credible commitment to protect property rights is required, and that requires institutions to check those in power.
For more information, visit the PolicyEd page here: policyed.org/unarchived/credible-commitments-key-economic-progress/video
Additional resources:
Read “Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in Seventeenth-Century England,” by Douglass C. North and Barry R. Weingast. Available here: hvr.co/3wFIzIg
Read “Constitutional Stability and the Deferential Court” by Sonial Mittal and Barry R. Weingast. Available here: hvr.co/3wDtSpd
Read “Legal Order: Lessons from Ancient Athens,” by Federica Carugati, Gillian K. Hadfield, and Barry R. Weingast. Available here: bit.ly/3wcBFdC
In “Violence and Social Orders: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Recorded Human History,” Douglass North and Barry Weingast integrate the problem of violence into a larger framework of social science and history, showing how economic and political behaviors are closely linked. Available here: hvr.co/3xjsSaM
Visit policyed.org to learn more.
- Subscribe to PolicyEd’s YouTube channel: bit.ly/PolicyEdSub
- Follow PolicyEd on Twitter: bit.ly/PolicyEdTwit
- Follow PolicyEd on Instagram: bit.ly/PolicyEdInsta
