Preface

In the winter of 2010, we realized that Professor Douglass C. North, our mentor, intellectual leader, and friend, was getting close to celebrating his 90th birthday in less than a year. We thought the time was ripe for a big birthday party. We took it upon ourselves to put together the intellectual program, through the Center for New Institutional Social Sciences (CNISS), raise the necessary funds, and, with the help our remarkable assistant, Alana Bame, produce the event. Many have gathered around the project. To begin, the leadership of Washington University gave us the blessing and some seed money. Then came the remarkable endorsement of the leading scholars in the field who volunteered to come to St. Louis, present papers, and contribute to this edited volume. The friends of CNISS, board members and many others, have followed with financial support and encouragement. In a rather chilly weekend, the first weekend of November 2011, more than 300 Friends of Doug came from all over the world to celebrate his 90th birthday. And at the heart of the celebration, this volume, came to be. Two years later, after many versions and revisions, we have come to send the volume to print. Many have made this rather unique volume come to life. We would need many pages to thank them all. We acknowledge a “short list” chosen by an intuitive but certainly not inclusive rule of thumb. Those not mentioned are not forgotten or overlooked.