The relationship between law and economic development remains enigmatic. Broadly speaking, there is no doubt that legal mechanisms for social control (or ‘institutions’, to use North's words) play a major role. Nevertheless, the impact of legal organization on economic development has not...

The work comparing the French and the German industrial relations systems usually contrasts the French state interventionism with the German tradition of an autonomous partnership among strong actors. These stereotypes might however be challenged by a further comparative analysis of the business...