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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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