Princeton University Press
Beating the Odds: Jump-Starting Developing Countries
Key Metrics
- Justin Yifu Lin
- Princeton University Press
- Hardcover
- 9780691176055
- 9.3 X 6.4 X 1.3 inches
- 1.6 pounds
- Business & Economics > Development - Economic Development
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
How poor countries can ignite economic growth without waiting for global action or the creation of ideal local conditions
Contrary to conventional wisdom, countries that ignite a process of rapid economic growth almost always do so while lacking what experts say are the essential preconditions for development, such as good infrastructure and institutions. In Beating the Odds, two of the world's leading development economists begin with this paradox to explain what is wrong with mainstream development thinking--and to offer a practical blueprint for moving poor countries out of the low-income trap regardless of their circumstances.
Justin Yifu Lin, the former chief economist of the World Bank, and C�lestin Monga, the chief economist of the African Development Bank, propose a development strategy that encourages poor countries to leap directly into the global economy by building industrial parks and export-processing zones linked to global markets. Countries can leverage these zones to attract light manufacturing from more advanced economies, as East Asian countries did in the 1960s and China did in the 1980s. By attracting foreign investment and firms, poor countries can improve their trade logistics, increase the knowledge and skills of local entrepreneurs, gain the confidence of international buyers, and gradually make local firms competitive. This strategy is already being used with great success in Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and other countries. And the strategy need not be limited to traditional manufacturing but can also include agriculture, the service sector, and other activities.
Beating the Odds shows how poor countries can ignite growth without waiting for global action or the creation of ideal local conditions.
Author Bio
Justin Yifu LIN is Dean of Institute of New Structural Economics, Dean of Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development and Professor and Honorary Dean of National School of Development at Peking University. He was the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank, 2008-2012.
Prior to this, Mr. Lin served for 15 years as Founding Director and Professor of the China Centre for Economic Research (CCER) at Peking University.
He is Councilor of the State Council and a member of the Standing Committee, Chinese People’s Political Consultation Conference. He is the author of more than 20 books including Beating the Odd: Jump-starting Developing Countries; Going Beyond Aid: Development Cooperation for Structural Transformation, the Quest for Prosperity: How Developing Economies Can Take Off, New Structural Economics: A Framework for Rethinking Development and Policy, Against the Consensus: Reflections on the Great Recession, and Demystifying the Chinese Economy.
He is a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences for Developing World.
Source: Center for New Structural Economics at Peking University
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