Introduction to Economics of convention – From convention to value.
Junya Tatemi & Masafumi Yokemoto (dir.) (2026)
Kyoto: Nakanishiya Publishing, 308 p.

価値の基準はいかにして生まれるのか、そしてそれはどのように用いられるのか
レギュラシオン学派と異なり、ミクロおよびメゾの次元における経済対象を扱い、「質の慣行」に注目し、複数の価値の基準とその用いられ方を明らかにするコンヴァンシオン学派によるユニークな「制度の経済学」をさまざまな観点から紹介する
コンヴァンシオン理論はかつては方法論的個人主義に拠っていたが、その意図は、主体間で行為が調整されるときにさまざまな水準の「慣行」が必要であることを明らかにする、いいかえれば制度的なものの次元の先行的な実在性を示すことであった。慣行としての集合的表象は、社会的諸価値の基準であり、それは狭義の経済的価値だけでなく規範的価値をも含んでいる。主体は、意思決定や計算の基準となり相互行為を可能にする尺度である「質の慣行」を参照しながら、財、人、組織、行為、出来事などの事物・事象の解釈や評価あるいは批判を行う(価値づけ、質的規定)。認知と規範のつながりとして慣行を捉える点、および価値の基準(共通善)が複数存在しそれらがいかに用いられるかを分析しようとする点が、コンヴァンシオン派の大きな特徴であろう
How Do Value Standards Emerge, and How Are They Applied?
Unlike the Regulation Theory, this book introduces the unique institutional economics proposed by the Convention Theory—which deals with economic phenomena at the micro and meso levels, focuses on “quality conventions,” and elucidates multiple value standards and how they are applied—from various perspectives.
Convention theory was once grounded in methodological individualism, but its intent was to demonstrate that various levels of “conventions” are necessary when actions are coordinated among agents—in other words, to show the prior reality of the institutional dimension. Collective representations as conventions serve as criteria of social values, encompassing not only economic value in the narrow sense but also normative value. Actors interpret, evaluate, or critique objects and phenomena—such as goods, people, organizations, actions, and events—by referring to “practices of quality,” which serve as standards for decision-making and calculation and as measures enabling mutual interaction (valuation, qualification). The key characteristics of the Convention theory are likely its conception of convention as a link between cognition and norms, and its attempt to analyze how multiple criteria of value (the common good) exist and are employed.
Table of contents
Part 1: Theory
Chapter 1: The Concept of Convention in Economics of Convention
by Taizo Yamamoto and Junya Tatemi
Chapter 2: From Game Theory to Economics of Convention. Lewis, Young, and Sugden by Guillemette de Larquier (Translated by Hiroki Yokota and Junya Tatemi)
Chapter 3: A Theoretical Examination of Value and Valuation. Developments in Economics of Convention
by Junya Tatemi and Taizo Yamamoto
Supplement 1: On the “World of Production” by Junya Tatemi
Chapter 4: The Convention of Money and Value. The Logical Structure of the Orleans School
by Akiyoshi Sakaguchi
Supplement 2: The Theory of Imitative Desire and Convention
by Akiyoshi Sakaguchi
Supplement 3: John R. Commons and Economics of Convention, Regulation Theory
by Kota Kitagawa and Akiyoshi Sakaguchi
Chapter 5: Constructivist Research and the Ethical Role of Conventions
by Kota Kitagawa and Yu Kurosawa
Supplementary Essay 4: Deriving a Vision of Society from Collective Action
by Yu Kurosawa
Part 2: Applications
Chapter 6: Changes in Capitalism and the Social Solidarity Economy. Seeking New Forms of Regional Development
by Junya Tatemi
Chapter 7: The Essence of the Firm in Economics of Convention. From a Coordination Device to a Governance Device of Power
by Hiroki Yokota and Junya Tatemi
Chapter 8: A Convention-based Approach to Accounting. Considering Accounting through “Conventions of Quantification,” “Conventions of Coordination,” and “Conventions of Valuation”
by Eri Kanamori
Chapter 9: Service Research in Convention Theory. Viewing Services as Social Interaction
by Kota Kitagawa
Chapter 10: The Expropriation of the Commons and the Politics of Legal Mediators
by Christian Bessy and Kota Kitagawa
Chapter 11: Politics Surrounding Valuation and “Value of Territory”. Case Studies from Minamata and Mizushima
by Masafumi Yokemoto
Chapter 12: The Valuation of Objects as Collective Creation in Society. Considering the Formation of a New Local Production Community and Connections with Citizens through Locally Made Wooden Furniture
by Hiroki Yokota
Chapter 13: Convention Theory and the Political Economy of Art. Re-examining the “Art World” from the Perspective of Valuation Theory
by Junya Tatemi
Chapter 14: Gender Valuation and Practices (Conventions) Surrounding Women’s Labor in Japan. Reflections on Gender-Related Values
by Ryoko Hattori
Afterword





