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A Grammar of Institutions
Abstract
The institutional grammar introduced here is based on a view that institutions are enduring regularities of human action in situations structured by rules, norms, and shared strategies, as well as by the physical world. The rules, norms, and shared strategies are constituted and reconstituted by human interaction in frequently occurring or repetitive situations. The syntax of the grammar identifies components of institutions and sorts them into three types of institutional statements: rules, norms, and shared strategies. We introduce the grammar, outline methods for operationalizing the syntax, apply the syntax to an analysis of cooperation in collective dilemma situations, and discuss the pragmatics of the grammar for analyses of behavior within complex institutional settings.
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“IG conceptualizes institutions as systems of statements that specify who may or must do what, under which conditions, and with what consequences [9].”
From Governance in Practice: How Open Source Projects Define and Document Roles (2026) · cites this paper as [9]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Crawford, S. E. S., & Ostrom, E.
- Affiliations
- Creighton University (US)
- Venue
- American Political Science Review
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 1995-09
- Volume
- 89
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 582-600
- ISSN
- 0003-0554 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5943
- OpenAlex
- W2037627831
- Semantic Scholar
- e2582728285ec5ceceeb904176b496cf94a46753
- Cited by
- 1,362
- References
- 128
- Citations by year
- 2026: 59 · 2025: 80 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 72 · 2022: 68 · 2021: 98 · 2020: 101 · 2019: 123 · 2018: 74 · 2017: 49 · 2016: 55 · 2015: 61 · 2014: 55 · 2013: 53 · 2012: 54
- FWCI
- 12.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Political Science Review (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economic Theory and Institutions
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Keywords
- institutional grammar, institutions, rules, norms, institutional statements, cooperation, social norms, human interaction
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