Development and the Process of Constitutionalization

In a recent contribution, North, Wallis and Weingast (2006) have taken on the issue of the link between economic development and institutional framework. They contrast two models of societies — natural state and open access — differentiated by the political pact established within the ruling elite and the economics that derive from them. Elaborating on this, we show that there is an intrinsic dynamic of constitutionalization processes by which citizens that might be granted unequal rights at a given historical step call for an extension and equalization of their rights, leading to the emergence of liberal orders characterized by strong equality in rights and, as a consequence, open competition both economic and political. The main driver of this evolution is the “call” of governed for adjusting existing constitutional arrangements, so that they can benefit from more capabilities and therefore more wealth and autonomy. The essential inhibitor is the will of elite to preserve the rents they get and share in a despotic regime that characterize natural states. There are however divergence of interests within national elites and among nations, which open spaces for agreements between rulers and governed, the former getting political support and increased revenues from tax thanks to the devolution of more rights to (some groups of) citizens. The development of the state as an efficient and impossible to fully control organization is a condition for the raise of an open access society. The state machinery appears as being the guarantor of open and fair competition thanks to the provision of neutral and efficient market and political infrastructures. * This paper draws from an earlier working paper entitled “Will the World be ever governed? The Dynamics of a Global Constitutionalization Process” that was discussed in various working groups before giving birth to two different papers. We are indebted to comments received from Marc Flandreau, Robert Ellickson, Bertrand Crettez, John Nye, Mike Dowdles. Usual caveat apply.