Book Review: Matt Andrews, 2013. The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development: Changing Rules for Realistic Solutions. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Matt Andrews has written a timely and important book that crystallizes thinking he and others have been developing over several years, and is underpinned by rigorous theoretical and empirical analysis. It is to be hoped that the lessons of the book will not be lost on the governments of developing nations, and more especially on agencies such as the World Bank, who need to adjust their development models to reflect the radically new approach to reform set out in the book. Andrews uses vivid language and colorful examples to highlight his important messages, and make them relevant to practitioners as well as scholars. The book deserves a wide readership.