Recent research has used the work of Douglas North as the foundation on which the case of institutions as ultimate driver of development could be built. North describes institutions as 'the humanly devised constraints that shape human interaction'. These are powerful metaphors for us who are accustomed to think in terms of' constrained maximization' as the rule guiding personal actions. This book explores complex issues such as institutions and geography, new Kaldor facts, institutions and endowments, institutions and culture, governance and such.