Different types of markets exist throughout the world but how are they created? In this book, an interdisciplinary team of authors provide an evolutionary vision of how markets are designed and shaped. Drawing on a series of case studies, they show that markets are far from perfect and natural mechanisms, and propose a new view of markets as social construct, explaining how combinations of economic, political and legal constraints influence the formation and performance of markets. Historical trajectories and interdependencies among institutional dimensions make it difficult to build costless, non-biased co-ordination mechanisms, and there are limitations to public and private attempts to improve the design of markets. The authors show that incomplete and imperfect modes of governance must be improved upon and combined in order for markets to work more efficiently. This timely book will interest practitioners and academics with backgrounds in economics, law, political science and public policy.

'Eric Brousseau and Jean-Michel Glachant have assembled a fascinating set of contributions that discuss the institutional arrangements that contribute to the 'manufacturing' of markets for goods and services … The chapters in this book provide important insights about how these institutional choices have been made in many different contexts, drawing on lessons from economics, political science, organizational behavior, psychology and law. There is much to learn from these chapters for both scholars and policymakers.'

Paul L. Joskow - President, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics, Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology