Law and Development

Law is widely thought of as a key ingredient, if not a prerequisite to economic development. “Good institutions lead to good economic outcome” is how the World Bank put it in one of its reports. Property rights play a central role in this narrative. Individuals invest if they can reap the future benefits of their investments. They can offer assets they own as collateral. And last, but not least, they are expected to incorporate the costs of using their assets if they will hold them in the future or pass them on to their heirs. Where property rights come from, how they are made and evolve, why, by whom and in what manner attributes of property rights are grafted onto different objects, claims, or assets, are questions that are rarely if ever asked. Neither is the tension between owners and creditors, the holder of property rights and secured interests, examined with a critical eye as go who gets the better protection when and why. This class will take a closer look at the property and credit as the two critical ingredients for the evolution of capitalist economies in different historical and comparative contexts. Insights gained from this analysis will be used to rethink how to configure control over and access to resources in a changing world that is beset by deep inequalities and the need to find collective solutions to combat pandemics and climate change.