This collection of essays exemplifies the recent trend in micro-development economics, where the source of underdevelopment problems is related to deficiencies in underlying institutions and distribution of assets: contract enforcement mechanisms, information systems, inequality of land and education, and limited government accountability.
The first part of the volume is devoted to market failures and under-development, including issues such as Keynesian effective demand problems, credit market imperfections, inequality in land and human capital, contractual distortions in tenancy, and marketing and performance incentives. In the second part the author analyses problems in governance in the context of tax evasion, bureaucratic corruption, fiscal decentralization, and delivery of public services.