The idea of the state in Africa as institutionless underlies much contemporary theorizing about African politics. The term "neopatrimonialism" - widely employed in the comparative politics literature to describe African political systems - implies lack of institutionalization, centralization of...

This study aims to assess to what extent the institutional environment is responsible for worldwide differences in economic development. To answer this question, a new concept of the institutions-augmented Solow model is constructed. The analysis covers 153 countries and the period 1994-2009....