This chapter discusses persistent and poverty-related issues in institutional economics. In institutional economics, the causes of poverty related to the unequal distribution of income and wealth are focused on contingent and diverse institutional factors. A key factor in reducing poverty through growth in economic productivity is the need to create effective economic institutions to appraise and facilitate potential technical and social innovations that underlie improved economic performance. Greater productivity, and perhaps chances for greater equity, should result from a balance between (a) flexible, adaptive institutional structures that comprehensively evaluate, and appropriately innovate to reduce production and transaction costs, and (b) a stable but appropriate informal institutional environment where social values and meaning support real growth in economic welfare.