What the war did was give me the opportunity of three years of continuous reading, and it was in the course of reading that I became convinced that I should become an economist. — Douglass North Copy Share Image
I went back to graduate school with the clear intention that what I wanted to do with my life was to improve societies, and… — Douglass North Copy Share Image
To predict the future we would have to know today what we will learn tomorrow which will shape our future actions — Douglass North Copy Share Image
The evolution of government from its medieval, Mafia-like character to that embodying modern legal institutions and instruments is a major part of the history… — Douglass North Copy Share Image
I went to elementary school in Ottawa, and then to a private secondary school. — Douglass North Copy Share Image
Information costs are reduced by the existence of large numbers of buyers and sellers. Under these conditions, prices embody the same information that would… — Douglass North Copy Share Image
My early work and publications centered around expanding on the analysis of life insurance in my dissertation and its relationship to investment banking. — Douglass North Copy Share Image
Conformity can be costly in a world of uncertainty which requires innovative institutional creation because no one can know the right path to survival.… — Douglass North Copy Share Image
When it came time to go to college, I had been accepted for Harvard when my father was offered the position of head of… — Douglass North Copy Share Image
I would be remiss if I left the impression that my life has been totally preoccupied with scholarly research. — Douglass North Copy Share Image
In 1972 I married again, to Elisabeth Case; she continues to be wife, companion, critic and editor: a partner in the projects and programs… — Douglass North Copy Share Image
The development of a political-economic framework to explore long-run institutional change occupied me during all of the 1980s and led to the publication of… — Douglass North Copy Share Image
I continue to be a photographer; I have enjoyed fishing and hunting with a close friend; and have owned two ranches, first in northern… — Douglass North Copy Share Image
