Explaining Success and Failure in Development

Szirmai, Adam (2008). Explaining Success and Failure in Development. UNU-MERIT.

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  • Author Szirmai, Adam
    Title Explaining Success and Failure in Development
    Publication Date 2008
    Publisher UNU-MERIT
    Abstract Since 1950, there has been considerable diversity in developing country experiences. Some countries and some regions have experienced rapid growth and catch up, others have fallen behind. At a global level there is an increasing inequality of per capita incomes. However, within the framework of increasing inequality, some countries have experienced accelerated catch up. The speed of catch up in the successful countries is more rapid than in previous historical periods. This paper analyses the sources of success and failure in economic development in the post-war period. It applies a framework of proximate, intermediate and ultimate causality. Proximate factors refer to the directly quantifiable economic sources of growth, intermediate factors refer to demand and policies, ultimate sources refer to the deeper historical, cultural, geographic and institutional sources of development. Monocausal explanations of success and failure are rejected. However, amongst the various sources of growth, the paper places special emphasis on developing countries' ability to tap into global knowledge flows. There is not a single example of successful catch up since 1868 which did not involve tapping into international technology. The extent to which countries can profit from international technology flows depends on their absorptive capacities, technological capabilities and systems of innovation.
    UNU Topics of Focus Economic development
    Keyword Catch up
    Economic development
    Economic growth
    Advantages of backwardness
    Absorptive capacity
    JEL O11
    O33
    O43
    O47
    P52
    Copyright Holder UNU-MERIT
    Copyright Year 2008
    ISSN 1871-9872
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    Created: Wed, 11 Dec 2013, 16:07:50 JST