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Project Details | Background Reading

 

Relationship between the Rule of Law and Social and Economic Development

James J. Heckman      Robert Nelson      William Neukom

March 7, 2007

William H. Neukom, President-elect of the American Bar Association, is leading an effort, the World Justice Project, which seeks to better define the meaning of the rule of law and to promote international commitment to the positive elements of the rule of law. The World Justice Project seeks to build on the momentum generated by the International Rule of Law Symposium held in November 2005 in Washington, D.C., and the ABA-IBA Rule of Law Symposium held in Chicago in September 2006. Background on these meetings is provided here.

The International Rule of Law Symposium gathered more than 400 leaders from 40 countries in the fields of business, government, law, public health, civil society, and international development, among others. Panelists and attendees shared their insights about the nexus between the rule of law and poverty, violence, corruption, public health, and economic opportunity. Highlights included a panel discussion by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Stephen Breyer, and Anthony Kennedy, and keynote speeches by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Foreign representation included Philippines Chief Justice Hilario Davide. See the attached appendix.

The ABA-IBA Rule of Law Symposium, organized largely under the initiative of Symposium Honorary Co-Chair Justice O'Connor, was a gathering of leaders composed largely of participants from the International Rule of Law Symposium who sought to develop a more robust commitment from the world's legal profession to advance the rule of law worldwide. The ABA-IBA Symposium led to the creation of working groups that will develop policy papers for adoption by national bar associations worldwide

The World Justice Project, sponsored by the American Bar Association, seeks to capitalize on the momentum generated by the previous meetings in order to broaden and institutionalize the network of organizations and individuals committed to advancing the rule of law. The project consists of three related initiatives leading up to a plenary conference, the World Justice Forum, to be held in Europe in spring 2008: (1) multidisciplinary outreach conferences, (2) development of a rule of law index, and (3) a research program involving a conference of experts studying various aspects of the rule of law.    We provide background on the first two activities in the documents attached to this memo.   We are asking you participate in the third activity.

The World Justice Project will convene a workshop of leading academics in early autumn 2007 in order to lay the groundwork for its research program.   This is part (3) of the overall project. Under the leadership of James Heckman, Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and Senior Research Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and Robert Nelson, Director of the American Bar Foundation, the World Justice Group and the American Bar Foundation are assembling an interdisciplinary group of leading scholars. Participants will be asked to write short position papers (2-3 pages) and to select readings of their work to constitute a preliminary meeting. Participants will expand on their position papers or edit existing papers or works in progress for presentation at a second workshop meeting in January or February 2008. These papers will be the subject of the World Justice Forum and will be published in an edited volume on the rule of law.

The term “rule of law” is a debated phrase, used in different senses by different speakers in a variety of contexts. We seek to define this concept constructively, informed by a discussion of such fundamental normative questions as what defines a good life and what the ultimate ends of a rule of law system might be. We will consider the tension between definitions of law based on universal principles and the need to adapt this concept to different cultural and historical contexts.

The relationship between the rule of law and economic and social development is a central question of our time. Is it the case, as some have argued, that the rule of law has spurred economic development in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America? Or does the causal direction run the other way? Or do law and economic growth co-vary in complex and contingent ways? We seek to build on the existing literature and consider new possibilities for implementation of policies highlighted by a clearer understanding of the fundamental causal relationships at work.

The research group will address the following broad topics:

•  What is the good life? What constitutes well-being? Are there universal principles that should be adopted for the rule of law? How should the concept of the rule of law be adapted to different cultural and historical contexts?

•  What is the relationship between the “rule of law” (variously defined) and economic and social development? What are the causal relationships between the rule of law and social progress?

•  What policies or positions should be advocated based on this causal knowledge? How can a rule of law system contribute to advances in areas such as human rights, health, and education?

•  What is the relationship between the rule of law and corruption, and governance more generally? How can an effective rule of law system be developed in the face of corruption and how can it contribute to its decline?

•  What is the relationship between the rule of law and regulation, including its effects on bankruptcy, corporate and finance law, labor market regulation and corporate governance?

There will be no attempt to force a consensus.   The goal will be to state the issues clearly and present frontier knowledge.

 

Background Reading

Thomas Carothers

Kenneth Dam

Yash Ghai

Terence C. Halliday

Ron Harris

James J. Heckman

Daniel Kaufmann

Timur Kuran

Margaret Levi

Robert Nelson

Katharina Pistor

Amartya Sen

Barry R. Weingast