Ethnically Homogeneous Commercial Elites in Developing Countries
Author(s)
Davis, Kevin; Trebilcock, Michael J.; Heys, Bradley
Abstract
This Article’s analysis of the phenomenon of ethnically homogeneous commercial elites critically examines both the positive and the normative components of the claims put forward by Chua and proponents of the New Institutional Economics. This Article asserts that deficiencies in formal institutions are not the sole, and may not even be the primary, reason why economically dominant ethnic minorities have been and will continue to be observed in developing countries. In other words, there is considerable merit in Chua’s claim that this phenomenon might persist under free market conditions. However, this Article questions Chua’s conclusion that the appropriate response to this insight is to craft institutions or policies that restrict the market activities of the dominant group.
