INSTITUTIONS, DEVELOPMENT, AND GLOBAL INTEGRATION: A THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTION

Alice N. SINDZINGRE (Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique (CNRS), France)
Howard STEIN (Roosevelt University, USA)

The paper focuses on the concept of institutions and their relationship with development in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, in order to understand their specific responses to economic reform and divergent performances vis-à-vis other developing countries. While the concept of institutions has been increasingly used in the literature it has lacked explanatory power, with institutions often being reduced to variables in econometric models. The paper aims at refining the concept in order to highlight the limits of the mainstream conceptual framework and the economic reforms usually demanded by the multilateral financial institutions, which did not improve the problematic situation of African States and their integration into the global economy. The first part of the paper critically reviews the concept of institutions and its uses by the development agencies. The second part proposes an alternative theoretical framework, which clarifies their nature and transformation, distinguishes different dimensions and levels of institutions and analyses them in terms of their composition with other existing institutions. The third part analyses the different dimensions that link the concept of institutions to political economy issues, particularly through the concepts of State credibility, legitimacy, and the developmental State. The fourth and final part focuses on the effects of globalisation.