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Law and Development Today: The New Developmentalism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2019

F. Charles Sherman

Abstract

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The purpose of this essay is to consider the significance of new developmentalism for the field of law and development. New developmentalism refers to a theory and practice of development economics, which appears to have entered mainstream development thinking. Its core elements also seem to have been a factor in the dynamic economic growth that has occurred in a number of emerging economies. This trend is significant for the field of law and development because: (a) conventional economic development orthodoxies are seen to have shaped previous law and development movements; (b) these models and their corresponding law reform projects were arguably inadequately adapted to existing domestic circumstances; and (c) new developmentalism represents a departure from conventional development orthodoxies, as it necessitates both learning and adapting to local settings. Yet such a system also creates new challenges for law reformers and policymakers within the international development community (not to mention domestic reformers), and it remains unclear (if not doubtful) that new developmental states can be engineered by external actors and institutions.

Type
Articles
Information
German Law Journal , Volume 10 , Issue 9 , 01 September 2009 , pp. 1257 - 1273
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 by German Law Journal GbR 

References

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