The paper brings together study by economists and anthropologists and aims at a critical investigation of the competing theoretical explanation of the role of violence and beliefs in economic, social and political development. By reconstructing discussion in neo-institutional economic theory over the role of history and culture in current economic performance of under-developed countries, the paper claims that scholars must today pay attention on violence and beliefs. Although economists recently confirmed that these two factors played crucial role in the different development of nations, when some of them accumulate power and wealth, while others fail, the paper argues that more complicated approach is needed. In particular, economists use too simplistic conception of power and violence and refuse to pay attention on beliefs of ordinary people. Social anthropology could suggest both sophisticated approaches to violence and precise attention to ordinary people beliefs. That the reason why anthropological knowledge should be incorporated in neoinstitutional economic theory