This article is about institutions as social mechanisms. Please see Organization for formal establishments.

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Institutions are social structures and social mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of two or more individuals. Institutions are identified with a social purpose and permanence, transcending individual human lives and intentions, and with the making and enforcing of rules governing cooperative human behavior. The term, institution, is commonly applied to customs and behavior patterns important to a society, as well as to particular formal organizations of government and public service. As structures and mechanisms of social order among humans, institutions are one of the principal objects of study in the social sciences, including sociology, political science and economics. Institutions are a central concern for law, the formal regime for political rule-making and enforcement. The creation and evolution of institutions is a primary topic for history.

Aspects of Institutions

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Although individual, formal organizations, commonly identified as "institutions," may be deliberately and intentionally created by people, the development and functioning of institutions in society in general may be regarded as an instance of emergence; that is, institutions arise, develop and function in a pattern of social self-organization, which goes beyond the conscious intentions of the individual humans involved.

As mechanisms of social cooperation, institutions are manifest in both objectively real, formal organizations, such as the U.S. Congress, the Roman Catholic Church or the Bank of England, and, also, in informal social order and organization, reflecting human psychology, culture, habits and customs. Most important institutions, considered abstractly, have both objective and subjective aspects: examples include money and marriage. The institution of money encompasses many formal organizations, including banks and government treasury departments and stock exchanges, which may be termed, "institutions," as well as subjective experiences, which guide people in their pursuit of personal economic well-being and wealth. Powerful institutions are able to imbue a paper currency with certain value, and to induce millions into cooperative production and trade in pursuit of economic ends abstractly denominated in that currency's units. The subjective experience of money is so pervasive and persuasive that economists talk of the "money illusion" and try to disabuse their students of it, in preparation for learning economic analysis.

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New Zealand Herald - National

Crash victim lost control on road works
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:58:36 +1200
A man was killed when he lost control of his car on a section of road works in the Waikato this afternoon. The crash, on the Tahuna-Ohinewai Rd northwest of Matamata, happened at about 2.45pm and involved no other vehicles,...
Pitbull destroyed after attack
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:21:50 +1200
A pitbull has been destroyed after it attacked a Napier community worker visiting a client last month, but no decision has been made to charge the owner. The dog was handed over to Hastings District Council Animal Control, and...
Police seek armed man after hold-up
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:57:49 +1200
Police are appealing for information after a man armed with a pistol robbed a Wellington-area dairy today. Detective Sergeant Scott Cooper said the man entered the dairy in Wainuiomata about midday and brought an item. He returned...
Shot teen gets bail
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:53:04 +1200
A 19-year-old man accidentally shot in the leg last month has been bailed and will reappear in court later this month on burglary and firearms charges. Dargaville man John Hurst and friend Vinnie Robinson, 18, allegedly...
Development in Tauranga murder investigation
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:52:18 +1200
Tauranga police say there have been "significant developments" in regard to their homicide investigation of the disappearance of Darrell James Crawford and William Taikato. Mr Crawford, 35, was last seen in August 2007,...
5.0 quake strikes Canterbury
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:33:47 +1200
An earthquake measuring 5.0 struck near Hanmer Springs in Canterbury today. GNS Science recorded the 2.35pm quake as being centred 20km northwest of Hanmer Springs at a focal depth of 11km. It was likely to have been widely...
Man robs bank at gunpoint
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:21:07 +1200
Police have released an image of a man who robbed a Tauranga bank at gunpoint today. The man walked into the BNZ Bank in Chadwick Road, Greerton, about 12.10pm and produced a long barrelled firearm, demanding money from staff. After...
Samaritans robbed by crime wave duo
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:21:41 +1200
Two Bay of Plenty men who crashed a vehicle stolen 30 minutes after one was released on bail, robbed good samaritans who stopped to see if they were hurt, police say. The Waimana-based two-man crime wave is testing their...
Air NZ cuts long-term fares to Australia
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:46:12 +1200
Air New Zealand is to cut long-term lead-in fares to Australia by an average of 15 per cent. Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin customers could benefit from cuts in fares to Sydney, Melbourne,...
Affordable housing bill passes under urgency
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:35:45 +1200
A bill giving new powers to councils to get cheaper homes built passed into law today. Sitting under urgency, MPs passed the Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Bill by 66 votes to 52. Under the law councils...
Customs seize 'P' ingredient with potential $20m street value
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:00:00 +1200
Customs officers in Auckland have seized 80kg of pseudoephedrine, enough to produce as much as 24kg of methamphetamine (P) with a street value of around $20 million. It is the third-largest haul of its kind seen in New Zealand. Officers...
Three jailed over home invasion to collect debt
newsfeeds@nzherald.co.nz Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:50:00 +1200
Three men who worked for a security firm - including the man who bashed Nan Withers and left her for dead in 1997 - have received long jail terms for stand-over tactics including threats and armed robbery. They were...

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