Institutional Thickness Revisited

abstract

Over the last two decades, the notion of institutional thickness has become a key reference for a large body of work that has sought to provide profound insights into the link between institutions and regional development. However, only few attempts have been made to reassess the concept, to improve its methodology, and to reflect on its empirical application. The aim of this article is to revise the original concept of institutional thickness. We draw on and seek to contribute to current work in economic geography and related disciplines on the role of organizations and institutions in regional development. We identify some crucial limitations and provide suggestions for how they can be addressed. It is argued that much can be gained by (1) explicitly elaborating on the relation between the organizational and institutional dimensions of thickness, (2) moving beyond overly static views on thickness, (3) developing a multiscalar approach to thickness, and (4) identifying features for assessing thickness in absolute and relative terms.

Key words:

• institutional thickness
• institutions
• organizations
• multiscalar analysis

JEL codes:

• D29
• O18
• P48

Acknowledgments

This work has been made possible by support from the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation MMW 2012.0194.

Notes

¹ In this section, we only refer to studies that have dealt with the concept of institutional thickness and not with work done on institutions in economic geography in general. “Toward a Revised Definition of Institutional Thickness” discusses those studies.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenbergs Stiftelse [MMW 2012.0194];