Contextual solutions for institutional reforms in developing countries: the case of Tanzania and Uganda

The central question is how a comprehensive contextual approach to economics, which goes beyond the sole consideration of formal conditions, can expand the existing understanding of catch-up development. The theoretical part shows how context and culture can be included in the analysis of institutional change. Understanding economic phenomena from a cultural perspective also aims to perceive and analyze the actual interaction between formal rules and informal constraints, as well as individual patterns necessary to interpret them.
The empirical part of the study examines how development consultants translate new institutions in a specific context. The question is examined by means of case studies and interviews with development consultants in Tanzania and Uganda. The results illustrate the role development consultants play in transmitting new formal institutions into a specific context.