Abstract:
A comprehensive literature survey reveals that the term "institution" has many different definitions. Since no existing definition was appropriate in the context of the study, a new definition is proposed. In a game theoretic framework, institutions are defined as both "rules of the game" and "equilibria of the game". The framework is applied to the annual negotiations between the government and the farmers' organizations about agricultural policies in Norway.

Another topic is the optimal timing of a policy reform under uncertainty. This problem is analyzed by combining option theory and welfare theory. An important result is that uncertainty can explain why current policies are seemingly Pareto-inferior.

Key words: Game theory, institutional economics, agricultural policy, agricultural negotiations, agricultural policy.

The dissertation was handed to the committee in October 2001, and sucessfully defended January 18, 2002. Head of research, Eirik Romstad, was the advisor for this dissertation.

Klaus Mittenzwei was born in Mannheim, Germany, in 1967. He holds a Dipl.-Ing. Agr. in Agricultural Economics from Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universtität Bonn, Germany (1993).