Since the end of World War II, economists have tried to figure out how poor countries in the tropics could attain standards of living approaching those of countries in Europe and North America. Attempted remedies have included providing foreign aid, investing in machines, fostering education, controlling population growth, and making aid loans as well as forgiving those loans on condition of reforms. None of these solutions has delivered as promised. The problem is not the failure of economics, William Easterly argues, but the failure to apply economic principles to practical policy work. In this text, Easterly shows how these solutions all violate the basic principle of economics, that people - private individuals and businesses, government officials, even aid donors - respond to incentives. Easterly first discusses the importance of growth. He then analyzes the development solutions that have failed. Finally, he suggests alternative approaches to the problem.
- ISBN10 0585393095
- ISBN13 9780585393094
- Publish Date December 2001 (first published 24 July 2001)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint MIT Press Ltd
- Format eBook
- Language English