operates, if we are to understand and influence group behaviour.
A major focus will be on prevailing paradigms of development at a macro-level, which is one
aspect of societal norms. The reason for this is partly that these paradigms have been an
important influence over policy and economic structures over these years; and partly because
this is one point of entry for policy change. Development thinking enters the picture at several
stages. First, it has a direct influence on how economies operate (including their incentive and
ownership structures) via its effects on policy - which in turn influences the incentives
individuals face, and therefore how they operate in groups; secondly, in a more indirect way it
influences the general culture about behaviour which in turn influences individuals’
behaviour when in groups. But development paradigms are not autonomous, coming in pure
form from scholars’ investigations; they are themselves heavily influenced by events in
society and the economy. Hence we have a quite complex process of cumulative causation, in
which development thinking is both an independent force, and part of the chain of
developments, influencing group behaviour.
In recent history we have seen some major changes in development paradigms which have
substantially affected not only institutions but also income and asset distribution. Three very
different stages can be picked out. The first is that of colonialism and neo-colonialism, where
primary production for exports dominated the formal economy; the second state-directed
planning and production; and the third, the era of the market and laisser-faire. Each has
affected the structure of the economy and has had a markedly different influence on group
behaviour. This paper aims to examine these developments, analysing how the changes in
development paradigm influenced policy and economic outcomes and in turn how far these
affected group behaviour. For this purpose, group behaviour will be categorised in the ways
discussed in Heyer et al.: i.e. differentiating group functions into three types, efficiency,
claims and redistribution; and group behaviour into the three modes - power and control
(P/C), cooperation (COOP) and behaviour according to market -incentives (M).
The paper is organised as follows. The next section will explore further why the macro-
context matters for group behaviour at a general level. The subsequent section will discuss