The importance of institutions, including legal institutions, to economic development is widely accepted. But to accept the importance of legal institutions does not by itself provide guidance to policymakers in the developing world. One influential body of economic analysis emphasizes the...

It is now widely accepted that the 'rule of law' is key to sustainable development. The different legal or rule-based systems in any given society underpin the institutions that govern both market and non-market interactions; they determine the distribution of economic, social and political...

This chapter summarizes the case for considering money as a legal institution. The Western liberal tradition, represented here by John Locke’s iconic account of money, describes money as an item that emerged from barter before the state existed. Considered as an historical practice, money is...