Synopses & Reviews
Engendered by renewed interest in development, Growth and Development from an
Evolutionary Perspective is a result of recent work in the "new growth theory" arena. This authoritative survey uses "comparative analytical economic history" to trace the evolution of development theory from the Physiocrats and the classical School to Solow, Lewis, and Lucas and Roemer. Through outlining historical time, typological differences across developing societies, and the transition from agrarianism to modern economic growth, the book arrives at contemporary analyses and current policies.
Theoretical sections develop a general system of growth equations that focus on the central role of technology change. Students can apply these equations to sub-phases of transition as well as to the modern growth epoch.
Policy-oriented sections discuss contemporary concerns with distribution, poverty alleviations, and human development as they relate to growth over time. The book identifies the policy implications of the development process, comparing East Asian with Latin American cases. In considering future policy, the book demonstrates how political economy factors suggest and enhanced endogenization of policy choices.
Synopsis
We are currently experiencing a revival of interest in development, partly as a consequence of recent work in the so called "new growth theory" arena, and partly because the recent debt crisis focuses attention on the adjustment problems of the third world and on the policy lessons to be learned from the East Asian experience. This volume traces the evolution of relevant development theory from the Physiocrats and the Classical School, to Solow, Arthur Lewis and, finally, Lucas and Roemer. The central purpose is to borrow and on occasion adapt the various tool kits offered to improve our current understanding of the development process which we see, in Simon Kuznets' terminology, as a transition from agrarianism to modern economic growth.
Although the book has a strong analytical orientation, it is also sensitive to historical time and typological differences across developing societies.l
Synopsis
The central purpose is to borrow and on occasion adapt the various tool kits offered to improve our current understanding of the development process which we see, in Simon Kuznets' terminology, as a transition from agrarianism to modern economic growth
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [436]-444) and index.
About the Author
John C. H. Fei was formerly Chairman of the Board at the Chung Hua Institute of Economic Research in Taipei, Taiwan. Co-author of five books and more than 75 articles, Fei also served as consultant to organizations such as AID, NPA, UNDP and the National Science Council of Taiwan. A Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he taught at Cornell University and Yale University.
Gustav Ranis is the Director of The Yale Center for International and Area Studies and Professor of International Economics at Yale University. Having served as consultant to such entities as The World Bank, ADB, AID, OECD, UNIDO, FAO, UNDP, and the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, Ranis is on the advisory boards, of several third-world research institutions. He has written extensively on theoretical and policy-related issues of development.
Table of Contents
List of Figures.
List of Tables.
Preface.
Part I: Introduction:.
1. Growth and Development: An Overview.
Part II: Agrarianism and Dualism:.
2. From Closed and Open Agrarianism to Modern Dualism.
3. Development of the Closed Dualistic Economy: A Bird's Eye View.
Part III: The Analytics of Growth and Development:.
4. The Neoclassical Production Function, Growth and Development.
5. A General Analysis of Growth Systems.
6. Applications to Modern Economic Growth.
Part IV: Applications to Growth and Development under Dualism:.
7. Transition Growth in the Closed Dualistic Economy.
8. Transition Growth under Open Dualism.
9. Growth, Equity, and Human Development.
Part V: Conclusions for Policy:.
10. Policy and Political Economy in the Transition to Modern Economic Growth.
Bibliography.
Index.