Economics And Development Studies

Development studies textbooks and courses have sometimes tended to avoid significant economic content. However, without an understanding of the economic aspects of international development many of the more complex issues cannot be fully comprehended. Economics and Development Studies makes the economic dimension of discourse around controversial issues in international development accessible to second and third year undergraduate students working towards degrees in development studies. Following an introductory chapter outlining the connections between development economics and development studies, this book consists of eight substantive chapters dealing with the nature of development economics, economic growth and structural change, economic growth and developing countries, economic growth and economic development since 1960, the global economy and the Third World, developing countries and international trade, economics and development policy, and poverty, equality and development economists, with a tenth concluding chapter. This book synthesizes existing development economics literature in order to identify the salient issues and controversies and make them accessible and understandable. The concern is to distinguish differences within the economics profession, and between economists and non-economists, so that the reader can make informed judgments about the sources of these differences, and about their impact on policy analysis and policy advice. The book features explanatory text boxes, tables and diagrams, suggestions for further reading, and a listing of the economic concepts used in the chapters.

Important parts of development practice, especially in key institutions such as the World Bank, are dominated by economists. In contrast, Development Studies is largely based upon multidisciplinary work in which anthropologists, human geographers, sociologists, and others play important roles. Hence, a tension has arisen between the claims made by Development Economics to be a scientific, measurable discipline prone to wide usage of mathematical modelling, and the more discursive, practice based approach favoured by Development Studies. The aim of this book is to show how the two disciplines have interacted, as well as how they differ. This is crucial in forming an understanding of development work, and to thinking about why policy recommendations can often lead to severe and continuing problems in developing countries. This book introduces Development Economics to those coming from two different but linked perspectives; economists and students of development who are not economists. In both explaining and critiquing Development Economics, the book is able to suggest the implications of these findings for Development Studies, and more broadly, for development policy and its outcomes.

Leading international scholars provide a timely reconsideration of how and why entrepreneurship matters for economic development, particularly in emerging and developing economies. The book critically dissects the evolving relationship between entrepreneurs and the state.

This book provides an overview of the key issues of development studies from a critical perspective: the nature of the global capitalist system and the dynamics associated with the development process, the outmigration and urbanization of rural areas, the formation of a global working class and the emergence of powerful resistance movements.

The mission, relevance and intellectual orientation of development studies is increasingly challenged from various fronts such as decoloniality, 'global development' and randomized control trials. The essays featured in this collection together argue for the need of the field to reclaim its critical political economy tradition. Building on the contributions of Ashwani Saith, the contributions touch upon many of the central questions of development studies centred around structural change, labour and inequality.

Development Economics: Theory, Empirical Research, and Policy Analysis by Julie Schaffner teaches students to think about development in a way that is disciplined by economic theory, informed by cutting-edge empirical research, and connected in a practical way to contemporary development efforts. It lays out a framework for the study of developing economies that is built on microeconomic foundations and that highlights the importance in development studies of transaction and transportation costs, risk, information problems, institutional rules and norms, and insights from behavioral economics. It then presents a systematic approach to policy analysis and applies the approach to policies from around the world, in the areas of targeted transfers, workfare, agricultural markets, infrastructure, education, agricultural technology, microfinance, and health.

The Companion to Development Studies contains over a hundred chapters written by leading international experts within the field to provide a concise and authoritative overview of the key theoretical and practical issues dominating contemporary development studies. Covering a wide range of disciplines the book is divided into ten sections, each prefaced by a section introduction written by the editors. The sections cover: the nature of development, theories and strategies of development, globalization and development, rural development, urbanization and development, environment and development, gender, health and education, the political economy of violence and insecurity, and governance and development. This third edition has been extensively updated and contains 45 new contributions from leading authorities, dealing with pressing contemporary issues such as race and development, ethics and development, BRICs and development, global financial crisis, the knowledge based economy and digital divide, food security, GM crops, comparative urbanism, cities and crime, energy, water hydropolitics, climate change, disability, fragile states, global war on terror, ethnic conflict, legal rights to development, ecosystems services for development, just to name a few. Existing chapters have been thoroughly revised to include cutting-edge developments, and to present updated further reading and websites. The Companion to Development Studies presents concise overviews providing a gateway to further reading and a flexible resource for teaching and learning. It has established a role as essential reading for all students of development studies, as well as those in cognate areas of geography, international relations, politics, sociology, anthropology and economics.

Business and Development Studies: Issues and Perspectives provides a comprehensive collection of cutting-edge theoretical and empirical contributions to the emerging field of business and development studies. Compared to more traditional business-school accounts of business in developing countries which focus on the challenges and opportunities of doing business in developing countries, this anthology explores whether, how, and under what conditions business contributes to the achievement of economic, social, and environmental goals in developing countries. The book consolidates the current status of academic work on business and development, identifies state of the art in relation to this academic field, and establishes a future research agenda for ‘business and development studies’ as an emerging academic discipline within the social sciences. The book will be of interest to researchers and students, including economists, geographers, sociologists, political scientists, corporate social responsibility specialists, and development scholars who are seeking an in-depth overview of current debates about the role of business as a development agent in the Global South. The book is also of relevance to practitioners that are engaged in work with the private sector seeking to enhance the positive effects and minimize the negative economic, social, and environmental consequences of business activity in the Global South.