Abstract
Theories in (New) Institutional Economics won recently the development debate. Meanwhile, the role of institutions is being taken into account progressively in development strategies analysis. Our research in Haitian Microfinance follows the same logic. Its fundamental idea is that development implies economic and social change and this is the result of a pattern of material and immaterial assets. Then, development is viewed as the process or outcome from the interaction of several capitals. In this study, we show that economic institutions structuring relations between economic agents are constitutive of a form of capital: the institutional capital. With an analysis based in the Haitian microfinancial intermediation, we find that institutional capital is a determinant condition for development strategies implementation. In microfinancial intermediation, institutional capital is a production of microfinance organizations. It influences users' behaviors of microfinancial services and generates economic and social outcomes. The main conclusion of our study using empirical evidence is the following: institutional capital matters, either for analytic purpose or as an asset used by economic agents to modify behaviors for change.