Institutions, Social Norms and Economic Development

Understanding economic change and development entails understanding human beings in the totality of their physical and human environment. This text combines the author’s knowledge of the necessary economic theory with the essential theory of other social sciences enriched by his work in the field. Jean-Philippe Platteau does not want to argue that institutions are important for development and that they have been shaped by historical antecedents or the accumulation of precedent crystalized in sets of beliefs, mores and patterns of behaviour. Drawing inspiration from Ester Boserup’s pioneering studies, Platteau makes a case that population density relative to land abundance is the place to begin to understand the sources of norms. The evolution of the informal norms is shaped by a complex of physical and social conditions that he illumines from his field work, particularly in Africa.