合约重要:一种对历史的更好解释

Contract Matters: A Developed Explanation of History

合约作为一种制度形式,也有着影响效率的作用。在其它条件相同的情况下,不同的合约会带来不同的效率。与产权制度更需要法律的强制性实施不同,合约因多是各方一致同意所达成,更多的是依赖于合约各方的自觉实施。因而在产权制度由于政治的或意识形态的原因无法很快改变的情况下,进行合约方式的变革可以较低的成本实现与产权制度改革的近似的结果。这正是中国改革,尤其是农业改革的情形,即农村的名义土地产权——集体土地产权并没有变化,但由于改变了农民与国家和集体的合约方式,而带来了极为显著的经济增长。更一般地,人类历史上经常出现产权制度——法律制度因政治的或其它原因无法改变,或改变要付出战争和流血代价的情形,所以作为替代,合约方式的变革往往是制度变迁的不引人瞩目的,却实际发生作用的普遍形式。

Contracts,as a form of institutions,have an influence on efficiency. Other conditions being the same,different contracts lead to different efficiency. U nlike property rights which require com pulsory implementation by law,contracts rely more on the contracting parties' voluntary im plementation due to the fact that they are reached by two contracting parties in unanim ity. Therefore,in the case where property institutions cannot be altered fast enough due to political or ideological reasons,reform s can be achieved by the modification of contracts,which result in sim ilar effects at a lower cost. This is the case for China's reform s,especially in agriculture: the landow nership in rural areas— collective land property rights have not changed in name,but the contract betw een farmers and the state,or the collectives,have changed tremendously to bring about rem arkable econom ic growth. In a more general sense,it has happened once and again in human history that property institutions — judicial institutions — cannot be changed due to political reasons or other,or due to the brutal bloodshed or war in prospect. Therefore,as an option,the change of contract exists as a more common,and unconscious but effective form of institutional change.