Institutions (often defined as anything that influences the decision-making process of economic agents) are considered to be of fundamental importance to an economy seeking to achieve sustained economic growth. According to North (1991, p.6), one of the main roles of institutions is to “reduce uncertainty by establishing a stable structure for human interaction”. This is important as it encourages economic agents to take part in socially productive activities such as investment and trade. It is widely recognized that these are necessary for sustained economic growth. In particular, good institutions can be seen in the form of, but not limited to, intellectual property rights and good governance. They can increase the benefits accrued by countries with favorable factor endowments. Examples of regions that have experienced sustained economic growth as a result are Great Britain and the United States. Britain benefited significantly from the presence of intellectual property rights, which arose as a result of the “Glorious Revolution”. After the revolution, a parliament with executive rights was born. Before the revolution, the Crown had full control of the economy. According to North and Weingast (1989, p.812), the Crown often expropriated citizens' wealth, either through the seizure of assets or by reducing “established industries to monopolies under the cover of technical improvements”. (W. Price (1906), cited by North and Weingast (1989, p.819)). By expanding the latter, the Crown would grant patents to companies for minor technological improvements, pushing other companies in the industry out of the market. The granting of the monopoly acted as a tax and therefore decreased the potential profit obtainable from investments. People were against the idea of ​​innovation… middle of paper… The United States was a major producer of many minerals in the early 20th century. This is not a coincidence. Rather, this depends on state governance. The state has not claimed any discovered minerals. Instead, it attributed full ownership to those who founded the warehouse. This encouraged people to look for deposits (that's why they worked together). Furthermore, the state funded the geological investigations, also supporting the results and distributing them to others. David and Wright (1997, p. 224) argue that this was a “critical part” in the successful development of the American mining industry. The institution of collective learning has allowed the United States to benefit significantly from its favorable factor endowment. The success may not have been so significant if the companies had kept their secrets to themselves or if the state had asked for a reduction in uncovered deposits.