Piotr Swistak

Piotr Swistak, associate professor in the department of government and politics at the University of Maryland at College Park, will develop a new framework for understanding the emergence of norms, group values, and other social institutions. At the heart of many policy problems involving firms or nations lies a need for institutions that promote efficiency through cooperation. Drawing on real-life empirical puzzles, Swistak will identify the conditions under which the norms conducive to stable institutions are most likely to arise. His work will describe the functions of such mechanisms as third-party sanctions, reliable information exchange, and shared linkages among the members of a group.

Working Papers:

• The Role of Formal Theory in Comparative Research