2009 Reports

Stylized Facts and Policy Alternatives

Ocampo, Jose A.; Rada, Codrina; Taylor, Lance

The main objective of this book has been to explain why so many parts of the developing world have failed to generate stable rates of growth in per capita incomes, and to offer policy alternatives for them to correct this outcome. The failure of growth was particularly widespread during the quarter of century or so after a series of adverse shocks beginning in the late 1970s. This period also coincided with a major shift in development policies toward an emphasis on market liberalization and a retreat from state intervention. History has not been kind to the mainstream interpretation of economic development and the policies associated with it.