A good society is characterized by, e.g., tolerance, freedom and growth. Tolerance, because tolerance implies respect for minorities and a basis for co-existence, even if people differ in various dimensions. Freedom, because freedom enables people to make their own decisions about how to lead their lives and to conduct experiments in living. Growth, because growth brings with it greater opportunities for the realization of preferences, no matter what those preferences look like, without risking conflict by taking from some and giving to others. The idea of this project is to widen our knowledge about how these three outcomes – tolerance, freedom and growth – can be achieved by focusing on institutions as possible determinants. In other words, the research question is how laws, rules and norms, and the political, economic and social systems to which they give rise, affect fundamental values in society.
Sponsor: Johan och Jakob Söderbergs stiftelse (2019–2021)