Development Economics Reader » (New Edition)

This book draws together the most authoritative articles on development economics published in the past few years, is aimed at undergraduate level and is suitable for students with little or no background in economics.

The main themes include poverty, foreign aid, agriculture and human capital, with essays by such luminaries as Amartya Sen, Jeffrey Sachs, Jagdish Bhagwati, Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Romer, Dani Rodrik, William Easterly, Robert Barro, Kenneth Arrow, Hernando de Soto, Daron Acemoglu, Muhammad Yunus, Anne Krueger, Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, Michael Kremer and Martin Feldstein.

The reader focuses on the most recent and up-to-date contributions to the field of development economics. Instead of collecting "classic" contributions—which are already available through many sources—the articles chosen reflect recent developments in the discipline (for instance, in the area of geography and development) and include contributions that address recent events (the dramatic resurgence of a debt relief movement).

The Development Economics Reader should be an invaluable resource for all students of the discipline.

Pt. 1 Economic growth, economic development, and human development

1 New Directions in Development Thinking World Bank 9

2 The Human Development Paradigm Mahbub ul Haq Haq, Mahbub ul 28

3 Perspectives on the Economic Development of India and China Amartya Sen Sen, Amartya 34

4 The Poor and the Rich The Economist 42

5 Beyond Classical and Keynesian Macroeconomic Policy Paul M. Romer Romer, Paul M. 49

6 Dependency Theory: An Introduction Vincent Ferraro Ferraro, Vincent 58

Suggestions for further reading 65

Pt. 2 Geography, institutions, and governance

7 Root Causes: A Historical Approach to Assessing the Role of Institutions in Economic Development Daron Acemoglu Acemoglu, Daron 73

8 The Primacy of Institutions (And What This Does and Does Not Mean) Dani Rodrik Rodrik, Dani Arvind Subramanian Subramanian, Arvind 79

9 Institutions Matter, But Not for Everything: The Role of Geography and Resource Endowments in Development Shouldn't Be Underestimated Jeffrey D. Sachs Sachs, Jeffrey D. 86

10 Democracy and Growth Robert J. Barro Barro, Robert J. 92

11 The Mystery of Capital Hernando de Soto de Soto, Hernando 99

12 Why the Middle East Is Economically Underdeveloped: Historical Mechanisms of Institutional Stagnation Timur Kuran Kuran, Timur 107

Suggestions for further reading 126

Pt. 3 Beyond growth: inequality and poverty

13 Inequality Matters Nancy Birdsall Birdsall, Nancy 135

14 The Economic Lives of the Poor Abhijit V. Banerjee Banerjee, Abhijit V. Esther Duflo Duflo, Esther 146

15 New Thinking About an Old Problem The Economist 172

16 Engendering Development: Through Gender Equality in Rights, Resources, and Voice World Bank177

17 Women's Agency and Social Change Amartya Sen Sen, Amartya 184

Suggestions for further reading 200

Pt. 4 People in development: population growth, health, education, and child labor

18 Fanisi's Choice John Tierney Tierney, John 213

19 The Ultimate Resource 2 Julian L. Simon Simon, Julian L. 233

20 Health, Wealth, and Welfare David E. Bloom Bloom, David E. David Canning Canning, David Dean T. Jamison Jamison, Dean T. 248

21 Pharmaceuticals and the Developing World Michael Kremer Kremer, Michael 258

22 New Antimalarial Drugs: Biology and Economics Meet Kenneth J. Arrow Arrow, Kenneth J. 281

23 The Learning Deficit The Economist 285

24 The Ten-Cent Solution Clive Crook Crook, Clive 288

25 A World of Opportunity The Economist 292

26 Third-World Families at Work: Child Labor Or Child Care ? Martha Nichols Nichols, Martha 296

27 International Labor Standards and Child Labor Kaushik Basu Basu, Kaushik 300

28 Child Labor in the Global Economy Eric V. Edmonds Edmonds, Eric V. Nina Pavcnik Pavcnik, Nina 308

Suggestions for further reading 330

Pt. 5 Agriculture, the environment, and sustainable development

29 Productivity Growth in World Agriculture: Sources and Constraints Vernon W. Ruttan Ruttan, Vernon W. 337

30 The Next Green Revolution Norman E. Borlaug Borlaug, Norman E. 359

31 From the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution: Review of Agricultural Biotechnology: Meeting the Needs of the Poor? Robert Paarlberg Paarlberg, Robert 362

32 What Is Sustainable Development?: Goals, Indicators, Values, and Practice Robert W. Kates Kates, Robert W. Thomas M. Parris Parris, Thomas M. Anthony A. Leiserowitz Leiserowitz, Anthony A. 367

Suggestions for further reading 388

Pt. 6 Financial markets and microcredit

33 Unleashing India's Potential: The Key Is to Modernize the Financial System Diana Farrell Farrell, Diana Susan Lund Lund, Susan 395

34 Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty Muhammad Yunus Yunus, Muhammad 401

35 Small Change: Bank That Pioneered Loans for the Poor Hits Repayment Snag Daniel Pearl Pearl, Daniel Michael M. Phillips Phillips, Michael M. 412

36 The Hidden Wealth of the Poor The Economist 418

Suggestions for further reading 424

Pt. 7 Globalization and financial crises

37 Why Trade Liberalisation Is Good for Growth Anne O. Krueger Krueger, Anne O. 433

38 Poverty: Enhanced Or Diminished? Jagdish Bhagwali Bhagwali, Jagdish 443

39 Trading in Illusions Dani Rodrik Rodrik, Dani 460

40 Social Justice and Global Trade Joseph Stiglitz Stiglitz, Joseph 469

41 Argentina's Fall Martin Feldstein Feldstein, Martin 474

42 How to Run the International Monetary Fund Jeffrey D. Sachs Sachs, Jeffrey D. 480

Suggestions for further reading 485

Pt. 8 Foreign aid and debt relief

43 Aid and Growth Steven Radelet Radelet, Steven Michael Clemens Clemens, Michael Rikhil Bhavnani Bhavnani, Rikhil 495

44 Making Aid Work Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee Banerjee, Abhijit Vinayak 503

45 We Must Tackle Development Problems at the Level of the Economy as a Whole Ian Goldin Goldin, Ian F. Halsey Rogers Rogers, F. Halsey Nicholas Stern Stern, Nicholas 510

46 Upstairs, Downstairs Jeffrey Sachs Sachs, Jeffrey 513

47 Debt Relief William Easterly Easterly, William 516

48 Can Extreme Poverty Be Eliminated? Jeffrey D. Sachs Sachs, Jeffrey D. 524

49 How to Help Poor Countries Nancy Birdsall Birdsall, Nancy Dani Rodrik Rodrik, Dani Arvind Subramanian Subramanian, Arvind 530

Suggestions for further reading 542

Index 544