Download Free Social Capability And Long Term Economic Growth Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Social Capability And Long Term Economic Growth and write the review.

What accounts for the varying long term growth patterns across developing countries? Why were some economies able to achieve sustained and rapid growth in the past three decades, while others failed? In Social Capability and Long-Term Economic Growth, an impressive panel of economists come together to develop a theory of long-term growth, focusing on the dynamic relationship between the social capability to manage scarce resources and long-term growth. Various theoretical issues concerning social capability are explored, and in-depth case-studies of the development experiences of Asian, Latin American, and socialist economies are presented with significant empirical findings. The authors argue that a nation's social capability to efficiently manage human resources is a crucial ingredient for sustaining growth. This study is a serious response to the important question of how a poor developing country can transform itself into a developed one, and its findings offer valuable insight to the development of a long-term growth theory and to economic development policies.
The essays in this book explore the forces behind modern economic growth and, in particular, the causes of the extraordinary surge of growth since the Second World War. The introductory essay is an extended treatment of how economists now view the growth process and its causes. Other essays consider the contributions of capital formation, education, and the changed nature of industries and occupations. Professor Abramovitz asks why elevated incomes failed to bring the social progress and personal satisfaction that people had looked for. The final chapters in the book take up the causes of our discontent and consider whether the Welfare State has itself become an obstacle to further economic progress.The essays in this book explore the forces behind modern economic growth and, in particular, the causes of the extraordinary surge of growth since the Second World War. The introductory essay is an extended treatment of how economists now view the growth process and its causes. Other essays consider the contributions of capital formation, education, and the changed nature of industries and occupations. Professor Abramovitz asks why elevated incomes failed to bring the social progress and personal satisfaction that people had looked for. The final chapters in the book take up the causes of our discontent and consider whether the Welfare State has itself become an obstacle to further economic progress.
While the income per capita in the developing world since the turn of the Millennium has grown faster than that of the developed world, the question whether there is an ongoing process of catching up between countries remains. The notion of income convergence has provided many insights into the sources for long-run growth but has largely neglected the role of social capabilities in economic development. By social capabilities we mean the qualification of the 'theory of convergence' which asserts that productivity growth rates between countries tend to vary inversely with regard to productivity levels. The social capabilities approach holds that a country's potential for rapid growth is strong when “it is technologically backward but socially advanced” (see Abramovitz, 1986:388). This means that the potential to catch up under globalization is strongest for countries in which social capabilities are developed to allow successful use of technologies and where institutional arrangements are conducive to economic progress. Yet there is no clear agreement in the literature on the main components of social capabilities or how to measure them. Our framework argues that the role of capabilities in catching up needs to understand them in terms of structural transformation, economic and social inclusion, state's autonomy and accountability. Without progress in these dimensions within-country inequality may increase and might in turn lead to stagnating growth and slim prospects for global income convergence.
By the winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Economics, an essential and paradigm-altering framework for understanding economic development--for both rich and poor--in the twenty-first century. Freedom, Sen argues, is both the end and most efficient means of sustaining economic life and the key to securing the general welfare of the world's entire population. Releasing the idea of individual freedom from association with any particular historical, intellectual, political, or religious tradition, Sen clearly demonstrates its current applicability and possibilities. In the new global economy, where, despite unprecedented increases in overall opulence, the contemporary world denies elementary freedoms to vast numbers--perhaps even the majority of people--he concludes, it is still possible to practically and optimistically restain a sense of social accountability. Development as Freedom is essential reading.
This paper explores the role of "social capability" in growth and development. We present a wide variety of evidence to show that rates of growth, in per capita income and TFP, are strongly related to the extent of a country's initial social development. We also show that differences in social development can explain polarization taking place in the world income distribution. Not only are these results interesting in themselves, they lead us to reject the influential augmented Solow model in favor of the alternative view, in which technology is allowed to differ across countries and social factors play a role in the speed of catching up.
Many countries have experienced a decline of economic growth for decades, an effect that was only aggravated by the recent global financial crisis. What if in the 21st century this is no longer an exception, but the general rule? Does an economy without growth necessarily bring hardship and crises, as is often assumed? Or could it be a chance for a better life? Authors have long argued that money added to an income that already secures basic needs no longer enhances well-being. Also, ecological constraints and a sinking global absorption capacity increasingly reduce the margin of profitability on investments. Efforts to restore growth politically, however, often lead to reduced levels of social protection, reduced ecological and health standards, unfair tax burdens and rising inequalities. Thus it is time to dissolve the link between economic growth and the good life. This book argues that a good life beyond growth is not only possible, but highly desirable. It conceptualizes "the good life" as a fulfilled life that is embedded in social relations and at peace with nature, independent of a mounting availability of resources. In bringing together experts from different fields, this book opens an interdisciplinary discussion that has often been restricted to separate disciplines. Philosophers, sociologists, economists and activists come together to discuss the political and social conditions of a good life in societies which no longer rely on economic growth and no longer call for an ever expanding circle of extraction, consumption, pollution, waste, conflict, and psychological burnout. Read together, these essays will have a major impact on the debates about economic growth, economic and ecological justice, and the good life in times of crisis.
Drawing upon both conceptual and empirical evidence, this volume argues the case for the centrality of social policy in development, focusing particularly on the message that social policy needs to be closely intertwined with economic policy. It is argued that social policy can provide the crucial link between economic development poverty eradication and equity. This volume is a significant contribution to thinking about social policy in a development context.
The study of economic development is one of the newest, most exciting, and most challenging branches of the broader discipline of economics and political economy. Although one could claim that Adam Smith was the first "development economist", the systematic study of the problems and processes of economic development in Africa, Asia, and Latin America has emerged only over the past five decades. This biography of the subject of economic development will focus on the essential ideas in the evolution of development thought and policy over the subject's half-century of life. In concise form and avoiding undue technicality, it highlights the influence of development theory on policymaking and on the mixed record of successes and failures in promoting development efforts. The interpretation of theory, policy, and the lessons of experience are covered in three periods: early development economics of the 1950s-60s; orthodox reaction of the 1970s-80s; and the new development economics of the 1980s-90s. Gerald Meier-one of the world's most prominent leading thinkers in the economics of development - interprets the past treatment of development problems with the present and future in mind. He re-interprets the past two generations of development economists in a contemporary voice. And in a forward-looking fashion, the book's perspectives should make the next generation of development problems-and development economists-more intelligible. The reader is invited to consider whether development economists really know how to put matters right.
A systemic account of how institutions shape economic development Institutions matter for economic development. Yet despite this accepted wisdom, new institutional economics (NIE) has yet to provide a comprehensive look at what constitutes the institutional foundation of economic development (IFED). Bringing together findings from a range a fields, from development economics and development studies to political science and sociology, The Institutional Foundation of Economic Development explores the precise mechanisms through which institutions affect growth. Shiping Tang contends that institutions shape economic development through four “Big Things”: possibility, incentive, capability, and opportunity. From this perspective, IFED has six major dimensions: political hierarchy, property rights, social mobility, redistribution, innovation protection, and equal opportunity. Tang further argues that IFED is only one pillar within the New Development Triangle (NDT): sustained economic development also requires strong state capacity and sound socioeconomic policies. Arguing for an evolutionary approach tied to a country’s stage of development, The Institutional Foundation of Economic Development advances an understanding of institutions and economic development through a holistic, interdisciplinary lens.