This book is an introduction to institutional economics, following the history of different trends in this field since the early 20th century until the present day. It relates the history of economic theories that make up the enlarged family of institutional economics.

I. Introduction: the institutionalist families in economics, II. Original institutionalism, 1.Schmoller and the German historical school, 2. Veblen's 'evolutionary institutionalism', 3. Hamilton: institutional economics, 4. Commons: organisations and institutions, 5. Polanyi and the economy as an instituted process, III. The Austrian school and 'ordoliberalism', 1. Menger: the organic and pragmatic approaches, 2. Hayek's 'Orders' and 'Rules', 3. Eucken and 'ordoliberalism', IV. The new institutional economics, 1. Williamson and the mechanisms of governance, 2. North: formal and informal institutions, 3. Game theory and comparative institutional analysis, V. Contemporary European currents of thought, 1.Regulation theory: historical macroeconomics, 2. The economics of conventions: interpreting the rules, 3. Hodgson and the revival of the 'old institutional economics', VI. Unity and diversity of institutionalisms