This book focuses on the role of economic and political institutions in economic development. The book offers fresh perspectives on the issues facing less-developed countries and the elements influencing their outcomes. The text includes chapters on democracy, property rights, and economic freedom, and uses diverse methodology such as case studies, spacial econometrics, and cross-country analysis. The volume features the work of prominent scholars in the area of institutional analysis such as Mohammed Akacem, Christopher Coyne, and Andrew Young as well as a number of junior scholars. This book will be useful for researchers and students interested in economic development and institutional analysis in general, in addition to individuals with a specific focus on countries or regions such as Iraq or sub-Saharan Africa.

Joshua C. Hall is an associate professor of economics at West Virginia University and Director of the Center for Free Enterprise within the College of Business and Economics. He earned his bachelor and master degrees in economics from Ohio University and his Ph.D. from West Virginia University in 2007. Prior to returning to his alma mater, he was the Elbert H. Neese, Jr. Professor of Economics at Beloit College and an Economist with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. Hall is a past President of the Association of Private Enterprise Education. In addition to being a co-author on the widely-cited Economic Freedom of the World annual report, he is author of over 100 academic journal articles.

Chapter 1: The Dictator's Knowledge Problem.- Chapter 2: The Economic Reconstruction of Iraq.- Chapter 3: Foreign Intervention and Global Public Bads.- Chapter 4: Property Rights and Economics Development: The Case of Sub-Saharan African Countries.- Chapter 5: Oil and Economic Development in the MENA Region: Why Institutions Matter.- Chapter 6: Do Remittances Promote Financial Inclusion.- Chapter 7: The Impact of Democracy on the Transition Through the Middle Income Range.- Chapter 8: Religion and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa: Unbundling Relgious Institutions.- Chapter 9: Spatial Spillover Effects of Debt Relief from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.- Chapter 10: Reducing the Impact of Ethnic Tensions on Economic Growth: Economic or Political Institutions.