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Abstract
This paper reviews the literature on economic development as it relates to indigenous
people in the United States and Canada, and focuses on how institutions affect economic
development of reservation and reserve economies. Evidence shows that strong
property rights to reservation and reserve land and natural resources, whether communal
or individual, are and always have been important determinants of productivity.
Political and legal institutions that are perceived as stable and predictable to tribal
members and to non-Natives also improve economic opportunities for indigenous
people living on reservations and reserves. Research reviewed here also shows that
culture and acculturation are important in the development process. Although our
emphasis is on North America, the findings are applicable to indigenous people in
other parts of the world and shed light on growth questions that loom large for
developing countries around the world.