Development Theory and Economic Thought
Learning from Great Economists of the Twentieth Century
Routledge Studies in Development Economics Series

The process of development is characterised by painful transformations in political, social and economic structure. However, in the process of gaining greater mathematical sophistication, economics has lost much of its capacity to understand the complexities of development.

This has also hindered the consideration of some of the major questions in development: How do transformations take place? How do economic, social and political structures interact? How can conflict over development paths be managed? The book explores these questions through the work of some of the most original economists of the twentieth century, all of whom wrote explicitly or implicitly about the process of socio-economic development: Michal Kalecki, Joseph Schumpeter, Karl Polanyi, and Raul Prebisch.

1 Introduction: development through the lens of the great economists of the twentieth century

2 Michal Kalecki: monopoly, investment and alliances for progressive change

3 Joseph Schumpeter: development as innovation

4 Karl Polanyi: the quest to bring markets under social and political control

5 Raul Prebisch: the state, structural change and industrial policies in an uneven global economy

6 Conclusion: towards a better understanding of conflict, change and the role of

the state