Professor Randall Peerenboom Speaks on Law and Development in Middle-Income Countries

Professor Randall Peerenboom, Morningside College’s second Distinguished Visitor of the 2013-2014 academic year, presented a public lecture entitled “Law and Development in Middle-Income Countries: An Emerging Post-Washington, Post-Beijing Consensus” on 27 February 2014. In his talk, Peerenboom, Professor of Law at La Trobe University and Associate Fellow for the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford, discussed the challenges of defining a path to development for Middle-Income countries, and concluded that a pragmatic approach to development, facilitated by strong leaders, may be more important for successful development than a dogmatic approach. An engaging Q&A followed, in which audience members asked Professor Peerenboom about possible short-term and long-term obstacles to development. Finally, Master Professor Sir James Mirrlees presented Professor Peerenboom with a token of appreciation to end the evening.