Development Economics: Aptly or Wrongly Named?

The book explores the persistence of the idea that Western institutions are the path to prosperity in development economics, despite seventy years of attempts to reproduce the Western model in different historical and cultural contexts. It raises questions about the ethical and professional responsibility of economists to prescribe market-oriented models to solve socio-economic problems everywhere, and invites readers to consider these questions and similar inquiries in the future.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 170 pages
Publication date: 29 January 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Since the emergence of development economics in the aftermath of World War II, a prevailing belief among its proponents has been that adopting Western institutions is the key to prosperity, presenting itself as the unequivocal solution to global poverty, illiteracy, hunger, inequality, and violence. Over the past seven decades, numerous attempts have been made to replicate the Western model in diverse historical and cultural contexts, yet these endeavors have largely proven to be mere illusions.

In the face of this reality, one must question why economists continue to advocate for development, convergence, and emulation of the lifestyle of Western countries. Is it feasible to separate development from the multifaceted instability, dependency, subordination, and exploitation that characterize it? Are the current social, political, ecological, and economic organized destabilizations observed in Western countries a model to emulate or a desirable endpoint of history? These critical questions, raised earlier by some fellow economists, have become increasingly urgent in the context of widespread instability.

This book seeks to delve into these profound inquiries, challenging the ethical and professional responsibility of economists to indiscriminately prescribe market-oriented models as a panacea for socio-economic problems across the globe. The contributors to this edited volume invite readers to engage with these questions and to pursue similar explorations in the future.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Review of Political Economy.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032212111