Smart Contracts in the Global South

Abstract:

While blockchain applications are at a nascent stage of development in developing countries (referred to as Southern countries in this article), they are already having significant economic, political, and social impacts.1 Writing and implementing contracts are one area that is likely to benefit from blockchain. Specifically, smart contracts, which execute automatically when certain conditions are met, can address some of the deficiencies of existing problems associated with contract laws and their enforcement in Southern countries. In many cases, the real challenge is in the interpretation of the contract rather than the breach by a party. Often, an uncertainty about the meaning of the terms in a contract presents questions of interpretation.2 Since smart contracts are enforced by software codes, many of the interpretation-related problems are not likely to occur in such platforms. Among the major benefits, smart contracts can dramatically reduce costs associated with verification and enforcement. Other advantages include higher speed, precision, efficiency, and transparency. A key challenge in this is how Southern countries can benefit from blockchain and its potentially disruptive application in smart contracts. In this article, we attempt to assess the potential of blockchain-powered smart contracts in Southern economies vis-a'-vis traditional contracting mechanisms.

Año de publicación:

2021

Keywords:

Fuente:

scopus