IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cup/jinsec/v10y2014i03p371-397_00.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

When do institutional transfers work? The relation between institutions, culture and the transplant effect: the case of Borno in north-eastern Nigeria

Author

Listed:
  • SEIDLER, VALENTIN

Abstract

Little is known of why institutional transfers have been largely disappointing. Berkowitz et al. (2001) have argued that because of what they call the transplant effect, imported law lacks effectiveness unless there is an initial level of familiarity or the imported law is successfully adapted to local legal norms. Yet, history shows that institutional transfers are possible: Why have some countries been more successful than others in importing foreign institutions? The paper introduces a framework for the analysis of the transplant effect, which is based on institutional economics. In the second part, we investigate the case of Borno State in northeastern Nigerian where institutions transferred during colonial rule and upon independence have been largely ineffective. In the case of Borno, the lack of a European educated bureaucratic class, low commitment of the political leadership, generally low levels of education and urbanization contributed to the low effectiveness of imported institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Seidler, Valentin, 2014. "When do institutional transfers work? The relation between institutions, culture and the transplant effect: the case of Borno in north-eastern Nigeria," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(3), pages 371-397, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:10:y:2014:i:03:p:371-397_00
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1744137414000046/type/journal_article
    File Function: link to article abstract page
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter J. Boettke & Christopher J. Coyne & Peter T. Leeson, 2015. "Institutional stickiness and the New Development Economics," Chapters, in: Laura E. Grube & Virgil Henry Storr (ed.), Culture and Economic Action, chapter 6, pages 123-146, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Couyoumdjian, Juan Pablo, 2012. "Are institutional transplants viable? An examination in light of the proposals by Jeremy Bentham," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(4), pages 489-509, December.
    3. Katharina Pistor & Martin Raiser & Stanislaw Gelfer, 2000. "Law and Finance in Transition Economies," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 8(2), pages 325-368, July.
    4. La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert, 1999. "The Quality of Government," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 222-279, April.
    5. Dani Rodrik, 2006. "Institutions for High-Quality Growth: What They Are and How to Acquire Them," Chapters, in: Kartik Roy & Jörn Sideras (ed.), Institutions, Globalisation and Empowerment, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Berkowitz, Daniel & Pistor, Katharina & Richard, Jean-Francois, 2003. "Economic development, legality, and the transplant effect," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 165-195, February.
    7. Djankov, Simeon & Glaeser, Edward & La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei, 2003. "The new comparative economics," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 595-619, December.
    8. Hayek, F. A., 1996. "Individualism and Economic Order," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226320939, April.
    9. Nathan Nunn, 2012. "Culture and the Historical Process," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(S1), pages 108-126.
    10. Easterly, William & Levine, Ross, 2003. "Tropics, germs, and crops: how endowments influence economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 3-39, January.
    11. Lange, Matthew K., 2004. "British Colonial Legacies and Political Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 905-922, June.
    12. G. Hodgson, 2007. "What Are Institutions?," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, issue 8.
    13. Oliver E. Williamson, 2000. "The New Institutional Economics: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 595-613, September.
    14. Douglass C. North, 2005. "Introduction to Understanding the Process of Economic Change," Introductory Chapters, in: Understanding the Process of Economic Change, Princeton University Press.
    15. Claudia Williamson, 2009. "Informal institutions rule: institutional arrangements and economic performance," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 371-387, June.
    16. Steve Pejovich, 2003. "Understanding the transaction costs of transition: it's the culture, stupid," ICER Working Papers 24-2003, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    17. North,Douglass C. & Wallis,John Joseph & Weingast,Barry R., 2013. "Violence and Social Orders," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107646995, January.
    18. Gareth Austin, 2008. "The 'reversal of fortune' thesis and the compression of history: Perspectives from African and comparative economic history," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(8), pages 996-1027.
    19. Zweynert, Joachim, 2009. "Interests versus culture in the theory of institutional change?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 339-360, December.
    20. Chang, Ha-Joon, 2011. "Reply to the comments on ‘Institutions and Economic Development: Theory, Policy and History’," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(4), pages 595-613, December.
    21. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2002. "Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 117(4), pages 1231-1294.
    22. Chang, Ha-Joon, 2011. "Institutions and economic development: theory, policy and history," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(4), pages 473-498, December.
    23. Kingston, Christopher & Caballero, Gonzalo, 2009. "Comparing theories of institutional change," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 151-180, August.
    24. Timur Kuran, 2011. "The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9273.
    25. Dani Rodrik, 2008. "Second-Best Institutions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 100-104, May.
    26. Coyne, Christopher J. & Boettke, Peter J., 2009. "The problem of credible commitment in reconstruction," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 1-23, April.
    27. Masahiko Aoki, 2001. "Toward a Comparative Institutional Analysis," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262011875, December.
    28. Svetozar Pejovich, 2003. "Understanding the Transaction Costs of Transition: it's the Culture, Stupid," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 16(4), pages 347-361, December.
    29. Lydon,Ghislaine, 2009. "On Trans-Saharan Trails," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521887243.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Murtazashvili, Ilia & Murtazashvili, Jennifer, 2016. "The origins of private property rights: states or customary organizations?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 105-128, March.
    2. Gutmann, Jerg & Voigt, Stefan, 2020. "Traditional law in times of the nation state: why is it so prevalent?," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(4), pages 445-461, August.
    3. Robbert Maseland & Rok Spruk, 2023. "The benefits of US statehood: an analysis of the growth effects of joining the USA," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 17(1), pages 49-89, January.
    4. Valentin Seidler, 2017. "Institutional Copying in the 20th Century: The Role of 14,000 British Colonial Officers," Journal of Contextual Economics (JCE) – Schmollers Jahrbuch, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 137(1-2), pages 93-119.
    5. Seidler, Valentin, 2018. "Copying informal institutions: the role of British colonial officers during the decolonization of British Africa," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 289-312, April.
    6. Jochem, Torsten & Murtazashvili, Ilia & Murtazashvili, Jennifer, 2016. "Establishing Local Government in Fragile States: Experimental Evidence from Afghanistan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 293-310.
    7. Frolov, Daniil, 2021. "Transplantation of economic institutions: a post-institutional theory (expanded version)," MPRA Paper 108707, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. ROUGIER Eric, 2015. ""The parts and the whole”: Unbundling and re-bundling institutional systems and their effect on economic development," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2015-12, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    2. Seidler, Valentin, 2018. "Copying informal institutions: the role of British colonial officers during the decolonization of British Africa," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 289-312, April.
    3. Seidler, Valentin, 2011. "Colonial legacy and institutional development: The cases of Botswana and Nigeria," ÖFSE-Forum, Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE), volume 52, number 52.
    4. Brousseau, Eric & Garrouste, Pierre & Raynaud, Emmanuel, 2011. "Institutional changes: Alternative theories and consequences for institutional design," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 79(1-2), pages 3-19, June.
    5. Bluhm, Richard & Szirmai, Adam, 2012. "Institutions and long-run growth performance: An analytic literature review of the institutional determinants of economic growth," MERIT Working Papers 2012-033, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    6. Valentin Seidler, 2017. "Institutional Copying in the 20th Century: The Role of 14,000 British Colonial Officers," Journal of Contextual Economics (JCE) – Schmollers Jahrbuch, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 137(1-2), pages 93-119.
    7. Couyoumdjian, Juan Pablo, 2012. "Are institutional transplants viable? An examination in light of the proposals by Jeremy Bentham," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(4), pages 489-509, December.
    8. Judit Kozenkow, 2013. "New institutional economics: Foundations and latest trends," Society and Economy, Akadémiai Kiadó, Hungary, vol. 35(1), pages 87-101, April.
    9. Rachel L. Mathers & Claudia R. Williamson, 2011. "Cultural Context: Explaining the Productivity of Capitalism," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 231-252, May.
    10. Buchen, Clemens, 2010. "Emerging economic systems in Central and Eastern Europe – a qualitative and quantitative assessment," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 37141, October.
    11. Polishchuk, Leonid, 2010. "Misuse of Institutions: Lessons from Transition," WIDER Working Paper Series 075, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    12. Marwil J. Dávila-Fernández & Serena Sordi, 2019. "From open economies to attitudes towards change. Growth and institutions in Latin America and Asia," Department of Economics University of Siena 809, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    13. Claudia Williamson & Rachel Mathers, 2011. "Economic freedom, culture, and growth," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 313-335, September.
    14. Dávila-Fernández, Marwil J. & Sordi, Serena, 2020. "Structural change in a growing open economy: Attitudes and institutions in Latin America and Asia," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 358-385.
    15. Williamson, Claudia R., 2012. "Dignity and development," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 763-771.
    16. Nicoara Olga, 2018. "Cultural Leadership and Entrepreneurship As Antecedents of Estonia’s Singing Revolution and Post-Communist Success," TalTech Journal of European Studies, Sciendo, vol. 8(2), pages 65-91, September.
    17. Usman Khalid & Luke Okafor & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2022. "Economic reform and political stagnation: The inconsistent patterns of institutional change," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 813-844, October.
    18. Frolov, Daniil, 2021. "Transplantation of economic institutions: a post-institutional theory (expanded version)," MPRA Paper 108707, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Luis Alfonso Dau & Aya S. Chacar & Marjorie A. Lyles & Jiatao Li, 2022. "Informal institutions and international business: Toward an integrative research agenda," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 985-1010, August.
    20. Kryeziu Liridon & Coşkun Recai, 2018. "Political and Economic Institutions and Economic Performance: Evidence from Kosovo," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 13(2), pages 84-99, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:10:y:2014:i:03:p:371-397_00. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kirk Stebbing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cambridge.org/joi .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.