Are well-functioning formal judicial institutions important for economic development, or can informal contracting arrangements provide adequate substitutes? This paper aims to answer this question using variation across industries in their reliance on contracts along with variation across Indian...

Prologue : into the wild -- Introduction : impermanence -- People matter -- The circle of life -- Good billionaires, bad billionaires -- Perils of the state -- The geographic sweet spot -- Factories first -- The price of onions -- Cheap is good -- The kiss of debt -- The hype watch -- The good,...