Why do institutions emerge, operate, evolve and persist? 'Institutional Choice and Global Commerce' elaborates a theory of boundedly rational institutional choice that explains when states USE available institutions, SELECT among alternative forums, CHANGE existing rules, or CREATE new arrangements (USCC). The authors reveal the striking staying power of the institutional status quo and test their innovative theory against evidence on institutional choice in global commerce from the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries. Cases range from the establishment in 1876 of the first truly international system of commercial dispute resolution, the Mixed Courts of Egypt, to the founding and operation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the World Trade Organization, and the International Accounting Standards Board. Analysts of institutional choice henceforth must take seriously not only the distinct demands of specific cooperation dilemmas, but also the wide array of available institutional choices.

Offers an original theory of institutional choice, addressing a central debate in social science

Offers an application to the history of global commerce

Both the theory and the empirical historical material are presented in an accessible way, to appeal to students as well as specialists

Joseph Jupille, University of Colorado Boulder

Joseph Jupille is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Walter Mattli, University of Oxford

Walter Mattli is Professor of International Political Economy in the Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University and a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford.

Duncan Snidal, University of Oxford

Duncan Snidal is Professor of International Relations in the Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University and a Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford.