Economic Development

In this fourth edition of his textbook E. Wayne Nafziger analyzes the economic development of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and East-Central Europe. This comprehensive and clearly written text explains the growth in real income per person and income disparities within and between developing countries. The author explains the reasons for the fast growth of Pacific Rim countries, Brazil, Poland, and (recently) India, and the increasing economic misery and degradation of large parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The book also examines China and other post-socialist economies as low- and middle-income countries, without, however, overshadowing the primary emphasis on the third world. The text is replete with real-world examples. The exposition emphasizes the themes of poverty, inequality, unemployment, the environment, and deficiencies of people in less developed countries. The guide to the readings, through bibliography, and websites with links to development resources makes the book useful for students writing research papers.

Table of Contents:
Part I. Principles and Concepts of Development: 1. Introduction; 2. The meaning and measurement of economic development; 3. Economic development in historical perspective; 4. Characteristics and institutions of developing countries; 5. Theories of economic development; Part II. Poverty Alleviation and Income Distribution: 6. Poverty, malnutrition and income inequality; 7. Rural poverty and agricultural transformation; Part III. Factors of Growth: 8. Population and development; 9. Employment, migration and urbanization; 10. Education, health and human capital; 11. Capital formation, investment choice, information technology and technical progress; 12. Entrepreneurship, organization and innovation; 13. Natural resources and the environment: toward sustainable development; Part IV. The Macroeconomics and International Economics of Development: 14. Monetary, fiscal and incomes policy, and inflation; 15. Balance of payments, aid and foreign investment; 16. The external debt and financial crises; 17. International trade; Part V. Development Strategies: 18. Development planning and policy-making: the state and the market; 19. Stabilization, adjustment, reform and privatization.

About the Author :
E. Wayne Nafziger is University Distinguished Professor of Economics at Kansas State University. A noted authority on economic development, he is the author and editor of sixteen books, including the first three editions of this textbook, The Debt Crisis in Africa (1993) and the editor (with Frances Stewart and Raimo Vayrynen) of War, Hunger, and Displacement: The Origins of Humanitarian Emergencies, 2 volumes (2000).

Review :
'The fourth edition of Nafziger's book is a great improvement on an excellent 3rd edition. The book is a textbook with a gold mine of innovative and current ideas about development. Particularly outstanding in the new edition is the thorough treatment of poverty in Chapter 6. 'Nafziger' is the leading text in the field.' John Weeks, School of Oriental and Asian Studies (SOAS), University of London 'This first rate text offers a clear and extraordinarily comprehensive treatment of the character and problems of developing countries from a range of perspectives. Its breadth makes it a perfect choice for custom-designed introductory courses in economic development. At the same time, it is filled with valuable references to the literature that serve as a helpful guide for deeper investigation of the key issues.' Lloyd J. Dumas, University of Texas, Dallas 'Professor Nafziger's highly readable multi-paradigmatic new text is a welcome addition to the literature. His balanced but critical presentation of the seminal theories in development provides a rich tapestry of ideas from which students can interpret the failures and successes of recent decades. The volume is replete with a real world understanding and measurement of the factors salient to growth and development. This text should set the standard in the field for years to come.' Howard Stein, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 'This textbook will be extremely useful to teachers and students. It is truly compendious-in its fair assessment of a wide range of models and theories and in its sustained attention to real-world examples, underpinned by a constant reminder of the significance of problems with empirical data. Rather than applying a body of theory to the problem of developing economies, this is a text book that begins from the diverse, uneven reality of developing countries and explores how economics has been applied, what debates emerge, and what policy relevance these debates have. It is written clearly and at a brisk pace and its particular value emerges by using the text in combination with Internet resources and bibliographic support the book provides.' Christopher Cramer, SOAS, University of London 'Professor Nafziger's Economic Development is the most comprehensive text available on the subject. It is written in a clear, lively and readable fashion which makes it very accessible to students. It deals impressively with theory, policy and institutional issues in the best traditions of political economy and draws intelligently on concrete country studies. It highlights the major contemporary debates in policy and their theoretical underpinnings. For all these reasons it will quickly eclipse other textbooks in the field.' John Loxley, University of Manitoba