Particular requirements for institutional analysis in nature-related sectors

Agriculture, horticulture, fishery and forestry are nature-related sectors that interact frequently with natural systems. This interaction represents a source of enforcement problems and transaction costs in the context of governing transactions. Institutional analytical frameworks used in agricultural economics should consider the particular properties of transactions involving natural systems. For ordering nature-related transactions, we propose a heuristic framework based on two dimensions: 'modularity and decomposability of structures' and 'functional interdependence of processes'. It serves as a starting point for establishing a typology ranging from 'atomistic-isolated transactions' to 'complex-interconnected transactions'. The complex process of institutionalising such transactions is decomposed into conceptual categories by means of a 'transaction-interdependence cycle'. Oxford University Press and Foundation for the European Review of Agricultural Economics 2008; all rights reserved. For permissions, please email journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.