The Role of Institutions in Economic Development

Abstract

This paper provides the text of the Gunnar Myrdal Lecture presented at the U.N. Palais des Nations in 2003. The lecture suggests that the gaps in income per capita between richer and poorer countries largely reflect the quality of their institutions. Institutions, by reducing uncertainty, are the key to facilitating cooperation which allows the realization of the gains from trade and exchange and the advantages of increasing specialization. It is argued that there is no single strategy for institutional design that will fit all countries.

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