Under the Thumb of History? Political Institutions and the Scope for Action

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo

Annual Review of Economics, 2014, vol. 6, issue 1, 951-971

Abstract: This article discusses the two leading views of history and political institutions. For some scholars, institutions are mainly products of historical logic, whereas for others, accidents, leaders, and decisions have a significant impact. We argue that although there is clear evidence that history matters and has long-term effects, there are not enough data to help us distinguish between the two views. Faced with this uncertainty, what is a social scientist to do? We argue that given the possibility that policy decisions indeed make a difference, it makes sense to assume they do and to try to improve policy making.

Keywords: political economy; persistence; development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N00 N40 O10 O44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (34)

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Working Paper: Under the Thumb of History? Political Institutions and the Scope for Action (2014)
Working Paper: Under the Thumb of History? Political institutions and the Scope for Action (2014)
Working Paper: Under the Thumb of History? Political Institutions and the Scope for Action (2014)
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