Culture matters more than institutions

• Author: Charles J. van der Vaeren
• Pages: 2

Page 2

Three articles in the September 2003 issue explain that setting up and managing the right public institutions is the key to development. This seems to be the new mantra of international financial institutions. It is also the basis for the fallacious New Partnership for Africa's Development.

In my view, cultural factors are at least as important as institutional ones-probably even more so. Culture largely determines the efficiency of public institutions because these are run by people even more than by laws and regulations. The Chinese example of the last two decades shows that a prevailing culture of thrift and effort and a strong belief in individual progress can produce high economic growth even...