How and Why Does History Matter for Development Policy?

The consensus among scholars and
policymakers that "institutions matter" for
development has led inexorably to a conclusion that
"history matters," since institutions clearly form
and evolve over time. Unfortunately, however, the next
logical step has not yet been taken, which is to recognize
that historians (and not only economic historians) might
also have useful and distinctive insights to offer. This
paper endeavors to open and sustain a constructive dialogue
between history -- understood as both "the past"
and "the discipline" -- and development policy by
(a) clarifying what the craft of historical scholarship
entails, especially as it pertains to understanding causal
mechanisms, contexts, and complex processes of institutional
change; (b) providing examples of historical research that
support, qualify, or challenge the most influential research
(by economists and economic historians) in contemporary
development policy; and (c) offering some general principles
and specific implications that historians, on the basis of
the distinctive content and method of their research, bring
to development policy debates.