The 1990s are witnessing a revitalization of analytical work and policy interest on themes of economic growth, savings generation, capital formation, and long-run development. The contributions to this volume, from leading scholars in the field, set out to examine critical issues in late-twentieth-century development.
The essays in the first part of the book critically review and expand recent contributions on growth and development issues. The new growth economics is analyzed in proper analytical and historical perspective by looking at the main contributions developed during the last two centuries. The complex links between savings, investment, and growth are examined through a careful review of the existing analytical and empirical literature in the field. Open questions and puzzles are considered. Development theory is subject to closer scrutiny by highlighting new directions for research and policy analysis using recent contributions in growth and trade theory, institutional economics, and social processes. The elements of a "strategic growth approach," building upon the successes and failures of both state-led and market-driven growth experiences, are discussed.
The second part of the volume is devoted to analysis of the varied experience with economic growth and development in Latin America, East Asia, and the OECD in the last three decades. Themes studied include the causes of golden ages versus growth crisis in different periods and regions, the growth response to policy reform in Latin America and East Asia, growth convergence in the OECD, and the role of finance in development.
Featuring a roster of international--and internationally known--contributors, this volume will be important reading for economists concerned with economic growth in developing countries.
Andrés Solimano is Executive Director for Chile, Inter-American Development Bank.