Economic Structural Change

Here is a comprehensive edited volume that outlines the historical roots and state-of-the-art debates on the role of structural change in the process of economic development, including both orthodox and heterodox perspectives and contributions from prominent scholars in this field.

This book provides an elaboration upon the concept of knowledge from an economic viewpoint. However this is not a book on economics of knowledge, at least not in the conventional sense. Most of the existing books on the matter have focused on the treatment of knowledge in terms of properties of knowledge as an economic good, incentive schemes for the creation of knowledge, issues about the codified/tacit nature of knowledge and the like.

This book presents an original theoretical treatment of the problems of maintaining full employment in a multisector economic system

The authors in this book regard the process of economic expansion as a non-homogeneous and multifaceted phenomenon which has deeply affected human welfare, and cultural, social and political change. The book is a bridge between the theorists (Rosenstein-Rodan, Lewis, Myrdal, and Hirschmann) who in the post-war period analyzed regional inequalities, structural change and dualism, and the modern literature on economic growth. The latter has emphasized the existence of multiple equilibria, bifurcations and various types of dynamic complexity, and clarified the conditions for the emergence of phenomena such as cumulative causation, path dependence and hysteresis. These are the typical ingredients of structural change, economic development or underdevelopment.

This book provides an innovative framework to analyze the process of industrial upgrading and diversification, a key feature of economic development. Based on this framework, it provides concrete advice to development practitioners and policy makers on how to unleash a country's growth potential.

The Oxford Handbook of Structural Transformation addresses the economics of structural transformation around the world. It deals with major themes, which include history and context, critical issues and concepts, methodological foundations, main theoretical approaches, policy issues, some illuminating country experiences of structural transformation, and important debates on the respective roles of the market and the state in that process. The historical record provides a challenge for economists to understand the success of the rising economic powers (some of them initially considered unlikely candidates for prosperity) and the stagnation or decline of others. Five major questions emerge: · Why has so much divergence occurred among nations of the world since the Industrial Revolution, and particularly during the 20th century? · Why has the pattern changed recently with the emergence of a few developing economies (e.g. the multi-polar world), and can it be sustained? · What are the key drivers, strategies, and policies, to foster structural transformation in various different country contexts and in a constantly evolving global economy? · How could low- and middle-income countries avoid development traps and learn from past experiences whilst exploiting the new opportunities offered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution? · What is the role of various development stakeholders and other important players in facilitating sustained economic convergence among nations? This book addresses these questions, bringing the rigor, usefulness, and multi-disciplinary scope of the Oxford Handbook series to a critical topic in economics. The Oxford Handbook of Structural Transformation is an essential reference work and a stimulus to new research and creativity across all branches of the social sciences.

This book examines long-term structural changes and the broad impact on economic development in regional comparative perspectives. The book analyzes data across Africa, Asia and Latin America. It looks at key variables of productivity growth, industrialization, poverty, urbanization, and employment. This book is concerned with understanding structural change dynamics and how it affects job creation, living standards, and the efficiency of productive cities through manufacturing productivity growth that benefits majority of citizens. With empirical evidence from a selected number of developing countries including China, India, Brazil, Nigeria and South Africa, the book attempts to present the considerable structural changes of these countries over the last few decades. It highlights that growth without the expected job creation is one of the distinct features of growth in emerging and developing countries. It suggests that countries may well record economic growth, whether through within sector productivity increase or through structural change, but this may not necessarily lead to employment, an important concern for long-term development.