INSTITUTIONS AND ECONOMIC-GROWTH - THE POLITICS OF PRODUCTIVITY IN WEST-GERMANY, SWEDEN, AND THE UNITED-KINGDOM, 1945-1955

This article reviews Mancur Olson's ideas concerning the impact of ins titutions on growth rates and national competitive performance. We sug gest that Olson's ''ideal typical'' methodology limits the usefulness of his approach and that institutional structures and strategies can b e dependent variables. In comparing the performance of three European countries in the postwar period, we argue (contrary to strict Olsonian principles) that changing market and political environments helped to determine the kind of institutional forms that emerged. We question t he weight that Olson places on the role of institutional structures an d strategies on long-run economic performance.