The New Law and Economic Development: A Critical Appraisal

This book is a collection of essays that identify and analyze a new phase in thinking about the role of law in economic development and in the practices of development agencies that support law reform. The authors trace the history of theory and doctrine in this field, relating it to changing ideas about development and its institutional practices. The essays describe a new phase in thinking about the relation between law and economic development and analyze how this rising consensus differs from previous efforts to use law as an instrument to achieve social and economic progress. In analyzing the current phase, these essays also identify tensions and contradictions in current practice. This work is a comprehensive treatment of this emerging paradigm, situating it within the intellectual and historical framework of the most influential development models since World War II.

David M. Trubek is Voss-Bascom Professor of Law and Senior Fellow of the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From 1989–2001, he was the UW's Dean of International Studies and Director of the International Institute. He was awarded the Kalven Prize by the Law and Society Association and was appointed Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques by the French government. He has published articles and books on the role of law in development, the social role of the legal profession, European integration, the impact of globalization on legal systems, the governance of work and welfare in a new economy, civil litigation, social theory, and critical legal studies.

Alvaro Santos joined the Georgetown University Law Center in 2007 as an Associate Professor of Law. He teaches international trade, law and economic development and transnational labour law, and his scholarly interests also include international law and legal theory. Professor Santos' research analyzes the impact of the global economy on domestic labour regimes. He is author of The World Bank's Uses of the 'Rule of Law' Promise in Economic Development, in The New Law and Economic Development: A Critical Appraisal (Cambridge University Press, 2006), which he co-edited with David Trubek. Prior to joining the Law Center, Santos taught at the University of Texas as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Emerging Scholars Program (2005–7). He has taught international law at Tufts University and law and development in the Master's Degree in Management of Development offered by the University of Turin and the International Labour Organization.