The Pioneers Of Development Economics

A survey of the main influences on the development of modern development economics.

"It is a rare treat to read the reminiscences of [this] group of development economists....We can be grateful to the World Bank for bringing these intellectual giants together to present their retrospective views..."--Choice The pioneers in development economics--Lord Bauer, Colin Clark, Albert O. Hirschman, Sir Arthur Lewis, Gunnar Myrdal Raul Prebisch, Paul N. Rosenstein-Rodan, W.W. Rostow, H.W. Singer, and Jan Tinbergen--offer a retrospective view of the formative decade after World War II when they made their seminal contributions to the subject. In individual papers, the pioneers recapture the intellectual excitement, expectations, and activism of that period and provide rare autobiographical detail and insight into why they said what they did and what they now think about the state of development thought and policy. Commentary is provided by economists of the succeeding generation, who reappraise their ideas with the benefit of hindsight. General overviews of the subject have been written by Gerald M. Meier and Paul Streeten.

This book explores the history of economic development thought, with an emphasis on alternative approaches in macro development economics. Given that the pioneers of development economics in the 1940s and 1950s drew inspiration from classical political economists, this book opens with a review of key classical scholars who wrote about the progress of the wealth of nations. In reviewing the thinking of the pioneers and those that followed, both their theories of development and underdevelopment are discussed. Overall, the book charts the evolution of development economic thought from the early developmentalists and structuralists, through to the neo-Marxist approach and radical development theory, the neo-liberal counter revolution, and the debate between new developmentalists and neo-liberal scholars. It ends with an assessment of the state of the field today. This book will be of interest to all scholars and students interested in the evolution of development economics.

The two outstanding features in the evolution of development economics have been the resurgence of neo-classical analysis during the 1960s and 1970s and, as a derivative, the prescription of appropriate policies for development. The papers in this volume examine the changing contours of the subject of economic development over the past three decades, focusing on these two features and indicating how their results have been most impressive for the analysis of agricultural policy, trade policy, and project evaluation. Five pioneers in special fields related to the subject--agriculture, international trade, trade and development, project appraisals, and structuralism and dependency--review their own contributions and interpret the evolution of their fields during the 1960s and 1970s, with other prominent economists serving as commentators. Together, the papers provide considerable insight into how development thought has evolved in response to the development experience since the 1950s, and from that, how it might evolve in the future.

With contributions from 35 leading economists, this forward-looking book explores the future of development economics against the background of the past half-century of development thought and practice. Outstanding representatives of the past two generations of development economists assess development thinking at the turn of the century and look to the unsettled questions confronting the next generation.The volume offers a thorough analysis of the broad range of issues involved in development economics, and it is especially timely in its critique of what is needed in development theory and policy to reduce poverty. An overriding issue is whether in the future 'development economics' is to be regarded simply as applied economics or whether the nature and scope of development economics will constitute a need for a special development theory to supplement general economic theory.'Frontiers of Development Economics' is an ideal reference for all those working in the international development community.

A history of the emergence of development economics as a distinct sub-discipline.

This book describes the history of economic thought, focusing on the development of economic theory from Adam Smith's 'Wealth of Nations' to the late twentieth century. The text concentrates on the most important figures in the history of the economics. The book examines how important economists have reflected on the sometimes conflicting goals of efficient resource use and socially acceptable income distribution.--[book cover].

Other Canon Economics: Essays in the Theory and History of Uneven Economic Development brings together key essays on development economics from one of the most prolific and important development economists and historians of economic policy today. Erik S. Reinert argues through essays ranging from 1994 to 2020 that neo-classical economics damages developing countries, mostly via adherence to the theory of comparative advantage. Based on a long intellectual tradition, started by the Italian economists Giovanni Botero (1589) and Antonio Serra (1613), Reinert shows that the country which trades increasing returns goods – e.g. high-end manufacture – has advantages over the country which trades diminishing returns goods – e.g. commodities. This has important implications for today’s development strategies that, Reinert argues, should be seen as industrial strategies.

"Economic Development makes an important contribution of the literature on economic development, especially as it incorporates ideas on a theme that informs our concern for social justice, individual and social freedom, identify, and community."—Winston E. Langley, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

Some of the finest essays in the social sciences, written by one of the twentieth century's most influential and provocative thinkers ​​​ The Essential Hirschman brings together some of the finest essays in the social sciences, written by one of the twentieth century's most influential and provocative thinkers. Albert O. Hirschman was a master essayist, one who possessed the rare ability to blend the precision of economics with the elegance of literary imagination. In an age in which our academic disciplines require ever-greater specialization and narrowness, it is rare to encounter an intellectual who can transform how we think about inequality by writing about traffic, or who can slip in a quote from Flaubert to reveal something surprising about taxes. The essays gathered here span an astonishing range of topics and perspectives, including industrialization in Latin America, imagining reform as more than repair, the relationship between imagination and leadership, routine thinking and the marketplace, and the ways our arguments affect democratic life. Throughout, we find humor, unforgettable metaphors, brilliant analysis, and elegance of style that give Hirschman such a singular voice. Featuring an introduction by Jeremy Adelman that places each of these essays in context as well as an insightful afterword by Emma Rothschild and Amartya Sen, The Essential Hirschman is the ideal introduction to Hirschman for a new generation of readers and a must-have collection for anyone seeking his most important writings in one book.