This paper divides economic institutions into three categories—coordination institutions, property rights institutions, and contracting institutions— and from this perspective, analyzes the role of government in Korea’s economic development from the 1960s to the 1980s. This analysis suggests that the Korean development experience is not in line with the conclusions of Acemoglu, Johnson, and Rob...

___________________________ Author’s Note (November, 2014): I was wary of revisiting an essay that was both informal and dated but found it less horrible than I had feared—perhaps because I have been stuck in a rut for 15 years! For an update on Section 2 (i.e., relational contracts, management, and leadership), see Gibbons and Henderson (2012). For an update on Section 1 (i.e., economic models...

THE FRENCH SYSTEM, INTRODUCED under Napoleon and derived from Roman law, relies on statutes, comprehensive codes, and detailed input from legal scholars. The British system focuses more on decentralized dispute regulation by judges, legal precedent, and voluntary contracts. In earlier research, Shleifer and his co-workers have argued that the differences in legal arrangements explain a lot of t...