Then what could an institutional perspective bring
to the study of environmental issues? As institutional
economics has led a life as an undercurrent in relation
to mainstream economics, there is a strong tradition
for developing critical perspectives towards mainstream
work. This was also taken up as the first task in
relation to the environmental field (see e.g. the article
by Jacobs, 1994). As Spash and Villena (1998 p. 26)
put it: bUnfortunately, there has been a tendency for
the institutional literature to centre upon presenting
criticisms of the neo-classical approach, rather than
suggesting constructive alternativesQ; however, in
recent years the constructive part has received more
attention.