探究制度的结构和内容:制度语法工具研究述评

Exploring the Structure and Content of Institutions:A Review of Research on the Institutional Grammar Tool

制度语法是一种解剖制度结构和内容的分析工具。自1995年问世以来,制度语法工具已经在多个研究议题和不同政策领域中得到较为广泛的应用,日益成为公共管理学科富有潜力的分析工具之一。本文首先考察了制度语法工具的产生背景,接着概述了制度语法工具的核心要件——ADICO句法,以及辅助要件——规则类型学和制度层次学。新近的研究主题主要集中在对制度语法工具的理论修正与拓展、编码系统的完善、实证案例分析等方面。在此基础上,本文建议未来应加强制度语法工具的理论研究,应推动制度语法工具与其他理论框架的结合。此外,制度文本的编码技术还需持续更新,研究数据来源应进一步丰富。最后,本文提出在中国情境下开展制度语法工具研究的意义和建议。

Institutional grammar is an analytical tool for dissecting the structure and content of institutions.Since it was first introduced in 1995,the institutional grammar tool has been widely used for various research topics and in various policy areas.In addition,it has increasingly become one of the promising analytical tools in the discipline of public administration.Given that there has been insufficient domestic research on the institutional grammar tool,this article offers a systematic review of institutional grammar research.It first examines the background in which the institutional grammar tool emerged.Then it outlines its core elements(ADICO syntax)and supporting elements(rule typology and multilevel institutional analysis).Recent research topics have mainly focused on theoretical revision and extension of institutional grammar tools,refinement of the coding system,and analysis of empirical cases.Based on a literature review,we find that the institutional grammar tool was initially used to explore topics on institutional design logic and institutional evolution.However,as research continued to advance,the relevant research topics and research areas gradually expanded.In terms of research topics,the institutional grammar tool has been applied to important themes such as policy design,policy implementation,policy change,and regulatory compliance.In terms of research areas,the institutional grammar tool has been explored in many substantive areas,such as common-pool resource management,environmental governance,transportation policy,food safety regulation,and tobacco policy.Among these,the most relevant research is concentrated in the field of environmental governance,e.g.,discussions of the institutional design features in the fields of water resource management,irrigation systems,and ecological restoration.With respect to research methods,there has been an increasing diversity of research compared to that at earlier stages,with scholars using texts,questionnaires,in-depth interviews,and participant observation to collect data followed by content analysis methods and simulations to analyze the data.Although institutional grammar research has made some progress,there is still room for improvement.First,theoretical development lags behind methodological improvements.Thus,in the future theoretical research on the institutional grammar tool should be strengthened.Furthermore,a combination of the institutional grammar tool with other theoretical frameworks should be promoted to expand the scope of research and to enhance the depth of research.Again,the coding technology of institutional texts must be further updated and,in addition to the traditional manual coding,machine learning can also be employed for automated coding.Finally,the data sources for institutional grammar research should be enriched,fully utilizing the respective advantages of formal institutional texts and informal institutional information.