How and why does history matter for development policy ?

Michael Woolcock, Simon Szreter and Vijayendra Rao

No 5425, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: The consensus among scholars and policymakers that"institutions matter"for development has led inexorably to a conclusion that"history matters,"since institutions clearlyform and evolve over time. Unfortunately, however, the next logical step has not yet been taken, which is to recognize that historians (and not only economic historians) might also have useful and distinctive insights to offer. This paper endeavors to open and sustain a constructive dialogue between history -- understood as both"the past"and"the discipline"-- and development policy by (a) clarifying what the craft of historical scholarship entails, especially as it pertains to understanding causal mechanisms, contexts, and complex processes of institutional change; (b) providing examples of historical research that support, qualify, or challenge the most influential research (by economists and economic historians) in contemporary development policy; and (c) offering some general principles and specific implications that historians, on the basis of the distinctive content and method of their research, bring to development policy debates.

Keywords: Cultural Policy; Economic Theory&Research; Population Policies; Cultural Heritage&Preservation; Development Economics&Aid Effectiveness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-09-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cwa, nep-evo, nep-his, nep-hpe, nep-pke and nep-soc
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSC ... ered/PDF/WPS5425.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: How and Why Does History Matter for Development Policy? (2011)
Working Paper: How and Why Does History Matter for Development Policy? (2009)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5425

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20433. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Roula I. Yazigi ().