Istituzioni dello sviluppo e sviluppo delle istituzioni: una introduzione

The concept of development has been submitted to profound and radical critics and revisions. Despite the different perspectives and concepts that process of redefinition gave birth, and their heterogeneity, a common deep root can be emphasized. It consists in the in exploring and deploying interpretations of development not exclusively based on economic parameters and trying to go beyond any simple overlapping between development and economic growth. It is in this context that the institutional dimension has to be introduced, as a fundamental variable of the processes of development. But the institutional dimension itself has to be reconceived, in order to overcome the limits of mere instrumental interpretations. Any interpretation of institutions as a variable passively depending on the economic processes has to be abandoned, in favour of approaches fully considering their specific (cognitive and symbolic) logics. The paper shortly recall some of the main directions of research linked to these two conceptual moves, and then gives an overview of the structure of the book and of its different contributes.

Vando Borghi e Federico Chicchi, Istituzioni dello sviluppo e sviluppo delle istituzioni: una introduzione in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO " 109/2008, pp 7-22, DOI: