Book
Institutional Change and Economic Development

The issue of institutional development has come to prominence during the last decade or so. During this period, even the IMF and the World Bank, which used to treat institutions as mere 'details', have come to emphasize the role of institutions in economic development. However, there are still some important knowledge gaps that need to be filled before we can say that we have a good grip on the issue of institutions and economic development, both theoretically and at the policy level. This book is an attempt to fill these gaps.Recognizing the complexity of the issues involved, this book draws together contributions from scholars in economics, history, political science, sociology, public administration and business administration. These experts discuss not only theoretical issues but also a diverse range of real-life institutions – political, bureaucratic, fiscal, financial, corporate, legal, social and industrial – in the context of dozens of countries across time and space – spanning from Britain, Switzerland and the USA in the past to today’s Botswana, Brazil and China. The contributors show that there is no simple formula for institutional development. Instead, real-life experiences of institutional development have been achieved through a mixture of deliberate imitation of foreign institutions and local institutional innovations.While arguing there is no set formula for institutional development, this book will assist developing countries to improve their institutions by providing sophisticated theoretical discussions and helpful policy ideas based on real-life cases.

Table of contents
  1. Institutional Change and Economic Development: An Introduction
    Ha-Joon Chang
  2. Part I: Theoretical Overview
    Understanding the Relationship Between Institutions and Economic Development: Some Key Theoretical Issues
    Ha-Joon Chang
    More Working Paper | Understanding the Relationship between Institutions and Economic Development
  3. Part I: Theoretical Overview
    Extending the ‘Institutional’ Turn: Property, Politics and Development Trajectories
    Peter Evans
    More Working Paper | Extending the 'Institutional' Turn
  4. Part I: Theoretical Overview
    Institutionalism Ancient, Old, and New: A Historical Perspective on Institutions and Uneven Development
    Erik S. Reinert
    More Working Paper | Institutionalism Ancient, Old and New
  5. Part II: Evolution of Particular Institutions
    Modern Bureaucracy
    John Toye
    More Working Paper | Modern Bureaucracy
  6. Part II: Evolution of Particular Institutions
    Central Banks as Agents of Economic Development
    Gerald Epstein
    More Working Paper | Central Banks as Agents of Economic Development
  7. Part II: Evolution of Particular Institutions
    Corporate Governance, Innovative Enterprise, and Economic Development
    William Lazonick
    More Working Paper | Corporate Governance, Innovative Enterprise, and Economic Development
  8. Part II: Evolution of Particular Institutions
    The Political Economy of Taxation and Tax Reform in Developing Countries
    Jonathan Di John
    More Working Paper | The Political Economy of Taxation and Tax Reform in Developing Countries
  9. Part II: Evolution of Particular Institutions
    The Rule of Law, Legal Traditions, and Economic Growth: The East Asian Example
    Meredith Woo-Cumings
    More Working Paper | The Rule of Law, Legal Traditions, and Economic Growth in East Asia
  10. Part III: Country Experiences
    State Formation and the Construction of Institutions for the First Industrial Nation
    Patrick Karl O’Brien
    More Working Paper | The Formation of a Mercantilist State and the Economic Growth of the United Kingdom 1453-1815
  11. Part III: Country Experiences
    The Role of Federalism in Developing the US During Nineteenth-Century Globalization
    Eric Rauchway
    More Working Paper | The Role of Federalism in Developing the US during Nineteenth-century Globalization
  12. Part III: Country Experiences
    Institutions and Economic Growth: The Successful Experience of Switzerland, 1870–1950
    Thomas David, André Mach
    More Working Paper | Institutions and Economic Growth
  13. Part III: Country Experiences
    The Rise and Halt of Economic Development in Brazil, 1945–2004: Industrial Catching-Up, Institutional Innovation and Financial Fragility
    Leonardo Burlamaqui, Jose A. P. De Souza, Nelson H. Barbosa-Filho
    More Working Paper | The Rise and Halt of Economic Development in Brazil, 1945-2004
  14. Part III: Country Experiences
    Rethinking Import-Substituting Industrialization: Development Strategies and Institutions in Taiwan and China
    Tianbiao Zhu
    More Working Paper | Rethinking Import-substituting Industrialization
  15. Part III: Country Experiences
    Developmental Nationalism and Economic Performance in Africa: The Case of Three ‘Successful’ African Economies
    Julius Kiiza
    More Working Paper | Institutions and Economic Performance in Africa
Show all
Endorsements

'A thought-provoking and challenging analysis of the role of institutions in economic development. It is a necessary antidote to the orthodox writings on this subject. A must read.' - Ajit Singh, Professor of Economics, University of Cambridge