Abstract
Since the mid-1970s, the hundreds of American Indian reservations in the United States have been afforded substantial powers of self-government - from law enforcement and taxation to environmental and business regulation. The result has been a set of diverse efforts to overcome widespread poverty, with equally diverse outcomes. This study reports the results of research into the sources of devel-opment success during the "take-off" stage of self-government. Little evidence is found to support hypotheses that resource or human capital endowments hold keys to launching Indian economies. Instead, tribal constitutional forms appear to be make-or-break keys to development. Development takes hold when these forms provide for separations of powers and when their structures match indigenous norms of political legitimacy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 443-470 |
Number of pages | 28 |
Journal | Journal of Socio-Economics |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2000 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Economics and Econometrics