Legal and Institutional Reform
The safeguarding and protection of economic freedoms lie
at the heart of USAID’s legal and institutional reform
activities. Economic freedom encompasses numerous things that
many people in developed countries take for granted, like
secure property rights, the assurance that contracts will
be honored and upheld, the opportunity to start a new business,
and the ability to buy and sell goods and services in an open
and competitive marketplace.
Secure property rights allow people to invest in the future
because they can be confident that their homes, land, and
wealth are secured. Farmers will have an incentive to practice
sustainable agriculture. Entrepreneurs and investors can be
confident that they will be rewarded if they invest in building
a business. Buyers and sellers will be more willing to engage
in more complex, but more rewarding, transactions. Consumers
and producers benefit from competitive prices for things they
need to buy. There are many different types of property rights,
and many different kinds of laws that buttress these rights.
More than good laws are needed, however, to protect economic
freedoms. Only if laws are administered and enforced predictably
and fairly can the rule of law take hold. Meaningful legal
reform often requires assistance to the people and the organizations
that implement and enforce laws, not only to those that write
them. Effective assistance at these different levels leads
to effective change through institutional reform.
Read more about USAID's legal
reform work...
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