“Law and Economic Development: a Historical Perspective”

The paper discusses the origins and effects of modern laws of property and contract in India. There are two available models of juridical history useful for this purpose. One of these emphasizes import of European ideas and the other the weight of Indian custom. The paper suggests that integrating the two models produces a more complete narrative. The process of legislation in nineteenth century India was driven by two different goals, political stability, which led to an accent on maintaining indigenous common law, and economic rationalization, which led to an accent on borrowing from western sources. This hybrid regime carried costs, however, and affected property rights and commercial law differently