One of my long term research interests is the study of social institutions. Though social institutions regulate most of our behavior and our life, they are still poorly understood, and I consider their study as the most important scientific subject.
There is a considerable literature on the subject but a comprehensive empirically founded, and empirically applicable theory is not yet available. Guided by previous theoretical work (Balzer 1990: A Basic Model of Social Institutions, Journal of Mathematical Sociology 17, 1-29; Balzer 1993: Sozial Institutionen. Berlin: de Gruyter; see my personal webpage for more) I am presently working on preliminary computer simulations which explore various partial aspects.