title: Legal reform in the presence of a living custom: an economic approach.
abstract: Empowerment of disadvantaged groups of population is a key issue in development. One major difficulty in implementing progressive legal reforms arises from the persistent and contrary influence of custom. In this paper, we present a simple theoretical framework that analyzes how customary rules evolve under the impact of a change in formal law. This evolution is ultimately caused by a modification of relative costs and benefits of exiting the community by members of the disadvantaged groups as a result of change in the law. We also describe how the welfare of these groups is affected and provide illustrative evidence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics and Centre of Research in the Economics of Development,  University of Namur, 5000 Namur,  Belgium.
authors.forename: Gani
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aldashev
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Platteau
authors.forename: Zaki
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wahhaj