Institutions, Social Norms and Economic Development

Abstract

Part 1 The subject put into perspective: radicalism versus gradualism - the intellectual debate of the 1950s and 1960s Marx and Boserup - institutional development as an induced mechanism the new institutional economics - a comparative static approach privileging transaction costs and risk considerations social norms and fairness considerations the evolutionary approach to institutions. Part 2 Resource endowments and agricultural development: introduction physical isolation and transportation bottlenecks physical isolation and market underdevelopment physical isolation and constraints on the supply of public goods the complicating presence of technology constraints lessons from the debate on the aggregate supply response conclusion and policy implications. Appendix: optimal choice of agricultural policy mix. Part 3 Property rights in land - part 1 dividing the commons: introduction the view of the property rights school and the evolutionary followers limitations of the (qualified) property rights approach conclusion. Part 4 Property rights in land - part 2 individualisation of land tenure: introduction the ETLR (evolutionary theory of land rights) - a presentation the ETLR put to test - the efficiency effects the ETLR put to test - the induced demand-and-supply mechanism conclusion and policy implications. (Part contents).