Constitutions and Markets

Conference, 14-15 June 2007

The year 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. A half century of peaceful socio-economic development in which the European Union has expanded from the original 6 signatories to its current 27 member countries.

A half century marked by the interplay between the process of market integration and globalization and the process of constitutional and intergovernmental institutional reforms, not only of the unfinished European Constitution but also of constitutional, and market deregulation, reforms in former socialist countries, as well as in other European countries going through a process of regional decentralization.

This rich experience of how legal and political institutions can enhance–and be sustained by—the process of economic growth has not been limited to the European Union. In particular, the rapid growth of China, India and other developing economies, together with the contrast of less positive experiences, has shed new light on how different constitutional arrangements can affect–and be affected by—the development, and regulation, of markets.

In sum, 2007 is an appropriate year to gather together the latest multidisciplinary contributions on the theory and evidence of the interplay between Constitutions and Markets. This is the goal of the conference, which brings together leading political scientists, lawyers, economists and historians working on different aspects of its common underlying theme.

Programme (.pdf)