Abstract:

Education, like many other aspects of our life, is influenced by different variables. Before implementing new policies to improve the scope and quality of education, different factors are usually taked into account: the economic environment, authorities and the institutional environment.

According to the New Institutional Economics (NIE), Institutions are a set of formal rules, informal norms and enforcement-mechanisms. This definition represents a novelty compared to neoclassical economics because it only takes into account formal rules for its economic analysis. Nevertheless, the informal norms that structure social conduct, often tacit, could be more influential than the law.

The purpose of this work is to explore the importance of the social informal norms in the implementation of a successful educational policy, offering additional insights into the nature of social cooperation to achieve a better educational performance.

Keywords:

Education, New Institutional Economics (NIE), informal rules, social capital.