Law and Development in a Time of Multiple Visions

Prof. Trubek, David M.
Professor of Law
University of Wisconsin

The field of law and development has seen the rise and fall of two dominant models—the developmental state model of the 1960s and 70s and the neo-liberal model of the 1980s. Both were subject to strong critiques. While ideas from both models are still with us, neither remains dominant. Today there is a flourishing of interest in law and development but no single approach has emerged to replace earlier models. Increased numbers of scholars from North and South are studying the relationship between legal institutions and processes of economic growth and social development. But with this surge has come a loss of confidence in earlier orthodoxies. Multiple visions are emerging. The current scene includes a wide spectrum of approaches, which range from a chastened neo-liberalism to interest in new roles for law in a revived version of the developmental state. This talk will describe the current scene with special attention to the revival of interest in the developmental state and its implications for the theory of law and development.