New Institutional Economics is the most important new body of theory to emerge in economics on recent years. This volume addresses the significnce of this theory for the developing world. It blends together theoretical and empirical contributions from a range of disciplines - notably, development, economics and economic history. The work begins with an overview of the origins and scope of the New Institutional Economics by one of its leading exponents, Nobel Laureate, Douglass North. Two chapters by leading development experts, political scientist, Robert Bates and economist, John Toye, extend this and provide critical commentaries an a theory which has challenged the orthodoxies about development, especially concernig the role of markets. The remainder of the chapters deal with theoretical issues and with institutioins, markets and the state in a wide range of geographical and historical contexts. The book is a major contribution to an area of debte still in its formative phase. Part of the promise of the New Institutional Economics is that it offers new perspectives on both the micro-foundations of economics and the long run dynamics of economic development.
However, the conclusions of this book are that its strengths tend to lie in micro-analysis rather than in 'grand theory'. As a whole, the book will be of value to specialists and students of economics, economic history, politics and development studies, and will interest both theorists and those with a particular regional interest.