Economic Development, Growth and Welfare

182 Pages·1994·16.482 MB·English

by  Charles Smith (auth.)

Economic Development,
Growth and Welfare
ECONOMICS TODAY
Edited by Andrew Leake
The Economics Today series surveys contemporary headline topics in
applied economics. Each book in the series is written by an expert in the
field in a style that is fluently readable. It serves the student of
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Published
Andrew Leake: The Economic Question
Jean-Louis Barsoux and Peter Lawrence: The Challenge of British
Management
Andy Beharrell: Unemployment and Job Creation
Frank Burchill: Labour Relations
Kenneth Durham: The New City
S.F. Goodman: The European Community (2nd edn)
Charles Smith: Economic Development, Growth and Welfare
Jenny Wales: Investigating Social Issues
John Wigley and Carol Lipman: The Enterprise Economy
Margaret Wilkinson: Taxation
Forthcoming
Nigel Healey and Mark Cook: Growth and Structural Change
Ian Hodge and Diane Dawson: Choices for the Environment
Kent Matthews: Macroeconomics and the Market
John Wigley: The Rebirth of Russia
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Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 2XS, England.
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT,
GROWTH AND
WELFARE
Charles Smith
M
MACMILLAN
© Charles Smith 1994
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
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claims for damages.
First published 1994 by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS
and London
Companies and representatives
throughout the world
ISBN 978-0-333-59268-7 ISBN 978-1-349-23385-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-23385-4
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Typeset by Cambrian Typesetters, Frimley
Dedicated to: Francis Archie Smith, Mary Louise Quibell,
Jose Brocca Ramon, and Rosa Garcia Lopez; my
grandparents, mis abuelos
Make John Lennon's dream come true .
It's the least we can do.
Song by Gerry Murray (Brandon Publishers), performed by Christie Moore
(WEA Records).
Contents
List of Tables, Figures and Boxes x
Acknowledgements xiii
Preface xiv
List of Abbreviations xvii
1
The World and its Welfare 1
Income, Growth and Welfare 2
2
Development: Economic and Human 14
Economic Development 15
Human Development? 16
How and Why does Development Take Place? 22
Development Policy 28
3
Population Growth: Threat or Opportunity? 29
Supply and Demand 29
Population Pressures 30
The Prophet of Doom 32
The Case for Population Growth 34
The Case Against 35
The Dependency Ratio 36
Social Attitudes 37
vii
viii Contents
Population Control 37
Children in the Population 38
The Development Trap 40
The Malthusian Trap 41
4
Can we Cure Poverty? 43
Who are the Poor? 43
Too Poor to Live? 45
How to Cure Poverty? 45
Aid and Absolute Poverty 46
Poverty and the Environment 46
Relative Poverty 47
Income and Wealth 48
How Can We Measure Income Inequality? 50
Why do Poorer Countries Seem Prone to Disaster? 53
Disease and Famine 55
The Rural Poor and Empowerment 58
Poverty and the Role of Women 59
5
Feeding the World 63
Nutrition and Cash 63
Terms of Trade 64
The Banks 65
The Advisors 65
Local Effects 66
Land-ownership 67
The Green Revolution 68
Land Degradation 70
Cash Crops and the MDCs 70
Alternatives to Cash Crops 73
What Can the MDCs Do? 75
What Can the LDCs Do? 76
Food and Water 76
6
Industrialisation - The Key to
Development? 78
The Stages of Growth 78
Structural Change 80
Contents ix
The Dual-Sector Development Model 82
Criticism of the Lewis Model 87
The Myrdal Theory 88
The Todaro Model 88
The Role of Government 89
Rural versus Urban: A False Dichotomy? 90
Appropriate Technology 90
Multinational Enterprises 94
MNEs and LDCs 95
7
Life in a Trading World 98
Industry and Trade 98
Export-Orientation (Outward Strategy) 99
Import-Substitution (Inward Strategy) 100
Trade and Welfare 101
Why does Trade Take Place? 108
Free Trade versus Protectionism 111
Trade and the LDCs 113
8
The Debt Crisis 124
Currency and Exchange Rates 124
International Saving, Investing and Borrowing 128
Aid 141
9
Government, Externalities and the
Environment 147
Macroeconomic Policy 147
Microeconomic Policy 149
Types of Planning 149
Externalities 151
Natural Monopolies, Public Goods and Merit Goods 152
Centralisation and Decentralisation 153
Areas of Special Government Concern 154
Some Conclusions 156
Index 159