Law matters for economic development, but where does it come from? And through what mechanisms does it affect different parts of the economy? In this insightful volume Tirthankar Roy and Anand V. Swamy start in the late eighteenth century, tracing the evolution of the British-Indian legal system as it emerged in the service of a cautious and self-serving colonial regime. They show that British-Indian law was designed to facilitate tax collection, permit international trade, and, above all, keep the regime in place. Since independence the Indian state has been much more confident and ambitious, seeking economic growth, equity, and poverty reduction. Therefore, it has also been far more interventionist, in policy and in law. Roy and Swamy have put together this entire two-hundred-fifty-year legal and economic history in a single narrative, for the first time, offering a unique perspective on the challenges of today.
About the Author
Tirthankar Roy is professor of economic history at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author of The Economic History of India, 1857–2010, The East India Company: The World's Most Powerful Corporation, The Crafts and Capitalism: Handloom Weaving Industry in Colonial India and co-author of The Economic History of Colonialism.
Anand V. Swamy is professor of economics at Williams College, USA, where he is also associated with the Center for Development Economics. He works in development economics and Indian economic history, and his work has been published in journals like the American Economic Review, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Development Studies, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Explorations in Economic History and Public Choice.
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