Who We Are

A non-profit organization based in Lima, Peru, the ILD is an internationally respected think tank that has emerged not just as an intellectual force in the field of development but also as an agent of change in the developing and post-Soviet world in the effort to move the assets of the poor from the extralegal economy into an inclusive market economy.

Many legal systems exclude ordinary citizens from the very legal institutions that should empower them. Forced to function outside the rule of law, they have no legal identity, no legal property, no legal businesses --and thus no credit, no capital, and no way to prosper. In order to do business, poor entrepreneurs create a parallel economy with its own rules and practices that are full of shortcomings that not only breed more poverty but also frustration and social unrest.

At the core of the ILD vision is the concept of “extralegality” --that ordinary, mostly poor property owners and entrepreneurs remain marginalized as long as they are deprived of three legal institutions essential for the creation of wealth:

• Fungible property rights to maximize the economic use of assets.
• Organizational forms to increase the productivity of enterprises.
• Identity devices to allow entrepreneurs to operate in expanded markets.

The ILD provides technical assistance to help governments furnish their citizens with these fundamental legal tools to participate in both local and international markets.