根据诺斯的观点，国家制度能力不足是一个短期配置效率问题或一个历史积累的沉淀成本，可以用提高制度的适应效率来补偿，也就是找到更好的改革机制，让效率更高的制度不断代替效率低下的制度。
According to North, institutional under-capacity is a short-term allocative problem, or sunk cost, for which the state can compensate with greater adaptive efficiency, or better mechanisms for bringing about the exit of less efficient institutions.