DP9997 Under the Thumb of History? Political Institutions and the Scope for Action

Author(s):	Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo
Publication Date:	June 2014
Keyword(s):	determinism, political economy
JEL(s):	N30, O1
Programme Areas:	Development Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=9997

This paper discusses the two leading views of history and political institutions. For some scholars, institutions are mainly products of historical logic, while for others, accidents, leaders, and decisions have a significant impact. We argue that while there is clear evidence that history matters and has long-term effects, there is not enough data to help us distinguish between the two views. Faced with this uncertainty, what is a social scientist to do? We argue that given the possibility that policy decisions indeed make a difference, it makes sense to assume they do and to try to improve policymaking.