Markets And Development

The state-market debate is largely the intellectual legacy of neoclassical economics. This book attempts to go beyond the state-market dichotomy, arguing that development can be helped or hindered by both the state and markets. It further argues that co-operation between the two factors is best.

This book offers fresh insights into the economic development and financial markets of Southeastern and Central European countries. The first part analyses macroeconomic trends and monetary policy issues, while the second part explores the development of financial and insurance markets. With contributions covering topics such as regional and income inequalities, economic embeddedness, industrial competitiveness, entrepreneurship, financial integration, insurance markets, and other socio-economic aspects, it appeals to scholars in the field of economics and finance interested in the further economic development of the Balkans and Eastern European countries as well as to professionals in the financial and insurance sectors.

"This book demonstrates the importance of true and fair competition to sustainable development and an effective marketplace, touching on issues of globalization, consumer welfare, cartels and monopolies, and trade liberalization. It provides an introduction to competition, and to competition law and policy in developing countries. It focuses on the practical problems faced in developing countries and the steps that have been and can be taken to overcome those problems. It is about anticompetitive practices as they occur in developing countries and the policies that governments and citizens can promote and implement to limit the impact of such practices." "The book will be of particular interest to consumer groups and NGOs, as well as to government officials, legislators, trade negotiators, and the judiciary. Educators, students, development professionals, and business groups will also find the book useful."--BOOK JACKET.

This book presents, or rather “re-presents”, the intricacies of a developing economy in the light of recent theoretical developments in economics while also providing a fresh perspective on the perceived inadequacies of the discipline in addressing the discontents of the contemporary global economic order. The book argues that there is scope for economics to be a more humane discipline and more relevant to contemporary economic problems by embracing new ideas, including those from other disciplines. It attempts to show how economic concepts and theories can be contextualised to help better understand real-life economic phenomena; how to rethink the ways in which the market economy can address the moral issues of human wellbeing and social justice; and, overall, how the study of economics and public discourses on economic issues can be made more engaging as well as more relevant to the problems of developing countries. Based on public lectures given by the author in Dhaka, and using illustrations from Bangladesh, India and other countries, the book offers an authoritative understanding of diverse economic realities by taking a fresh look at the familiar. Comprehensive and accessible, the book will be of interest to students and researchers of economics, development economics and policy, sociology and business studies as well as to journalists, public intellectuals and policymakers in developing countries.

This book focuses on empirical experiences related to market development, and specifically new markets with structurally different characteristics than mainstream markets. Europe, Brazil, China and the rather robust and complex African experiences are covered to provide a rich multidisciplinary and multi-level analysis of the dynamics of newly emerging markets. Rural Development and the Construction of New Markets analyses newly constructed markets as nested markets. Although they are specific market segments that are nested in the wider commodity markets for food, they have a different nature, different dynamics, a different redistribution of value added, different prices and different relations between producers and consumers. Nested markets embody distinction viz-a-viz the general markets in which they are embedded. A key aspect of nested markets is that these are constructed in and through social struggles, which in turn positions this book in relation to classic and new institutional economic analyses of markets. These markets emerge as steadily growing parts of the farmer populations are dedicating their time, energy and resources to the design and production of new goods and services that differ from conventional agricultural outputs. The speed and intensity with which this is taking place, and the products and services involved, vary considerably across the world. In large parts of the South, notably Africa, farmers are ‘structurally’ combining farming with other activities. By contrast, in Europe and large parts of Latin America farmers have taken steps to generate new products and services which exist alongside ongoing agricultural production. This book not only discusses the economic rationales and dynamics for these markets, but also their likely futures and the threats and opportunities they face.

This volume is a testament to the breadth and policy relevance of development economics today. It grapples with questions on how to design anti-poverty policies and under what conditions we can expect them to be successful. It concentrates on programmes and policies for India and covers international experience with cash transfer programmes. The work in this area applies core theoretical insights to policy discussions surrounding poverty measurement, income inequality, rural unemployment, and compares alternative growth strategies in terms of their impact on poverty and inequality. The book closes with chapters that trespass the boundaries of economics and enter the territory of politics, to engage urgent concerns of the day that are the basis of much dispute and debate. The essays are collected under three broad themes-anti-poverty policies; land, labour, and financial markets; and political economy.