From Marxian school of economic thought to system paradigm in economic studies: the institutional matrices theory

The paper discusses some theoretical-methodological basis for the institutional change analysis in transitional countries. First, the paper shows the specific approach of the Marxian school of economic thought to the analysis of social and economic institutions. Second, the most general features of the system paradigm in economic theory (Kornai, 1998) are presented. Third, the institutional matrices theory, or IMT (Кирдина, 2001; Kirdina, 2001, 2010, etc.), developing Marxian approach and systemic ideas, is presented. An explanatory power of IMT is shown by the analysis of post-soviet reforms in Russia and East-European countries.