Rules of the game and development

Abstract

For more than two decades, economists and other social scientists have considered that the rules of the game present in a society are significant to promote the economic and human development of nations. Legal norms integrate those rules of the game that are under permanent debate as a possible engine of development. Inexplicably, we jurists -especially in Latin America- have remained on the sidelines of these discussions, missing a relevant space to contribute from our perspective to the possible solutions to certain development problems.

This paper intends to be a call for attention on the possible contributions to development that can be made from the law. To this end, the first part of the paper reconstructs some of the current discussions of economists on the role of the rules of the game in development. The second part of the paper reviews some cases that reflect the debates outlined in the first part. These cases have been chosen for an additional reason: in them legal rules are clearly interrelated with development. The first case to be explored is that of the relationship of civil and commercial law rules with the proliferation of the informal economy; secondly, it is observed how a good regulatory design has generated an enormous advance in the elimination of informal rules that hindered the proper functioning of benefits aimed at reducing poverty; finally, through a series of short examples, the relevance of non-orthodox formal institutions for the generation of economic growth is attempted to be highlighted.