Rethinking the historic models of the role of constitutions in shaping patterns of inequality

McClure, J. (2022) Rethinking the historic models of the role of constitutions in shaping patterns of inequality. In: Chadwick, A., Lozano-Rodriguez, E., Palacios-Lleras, A. and Solana, J. (eds.) Markets, Constitutions, and Inequality. Routledge. ISBN 9781003202257 (doi: 10.4324/9781003202257)

Abstract

Economists and historians who have examined the long-term impact of constitutions have tended to focus upon their impact on patterns of economic growth rather than their impact on patterns of inequality within a society. Economists from the school of New Institutional Economics provided a historical model which aimed to show that countries that have constitutional arrangements that protect private property have more economic growth. In this model, Spain is taken as an example of a country without constitutional protection of private property and is consequently poorer. Firstly, this chapter argues that the approach of New Institutional Economics is not ideologically neutral but informed by the tradition of liberal economics which prioritizes the importance of private property. Secondly, this chapter argues that Iberian traditions of constitutionalism and common property institutions have been poorly understood. Thirdly, the chapter argues that a broader understanding of diverse constitutional arrangements and common property institutions could offer new understandings of landscapes of inequality.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McClure, Dr Julia
• Authors: McClure, J.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Publisher: Routledge
• ISBN: 9781003202257

Related URLs

• Publisher