Edward Elgar Publishing Rich Nations – Poor Nations: The Long-Run Perspective

Today the gap between rich and poor nations is larger than it has ever been in recorded history. Yet the economic hegemony of Europe was unanticipated in the fifteenth century when Europeans seemed no more advanced than their eastern counterparts. This distinguished collection of papers places present development problems in historical perspective, drawing on European experience to show what characterized the growth of the world's first industrialized continent. Topics discussed in this volume include the influence of late fertility on economic development, the roots of Latin American backwardness, economic growth in Central and Eastern Europe since 1870, macroeconomic populism and economic failure in Africa since 1960, trade and exchange rate liberalization, and the impact of technology and capital market development in a divided world. Rich Nations - Poor Nations offers a broad perspective on the development process in which authors relate historical work to the current problems of the Third World. While these papers are not anchored solely in the European past, they recognize that some positive things can be gleaned from Europe's historical experience which will be of value to developing nations. Review 'This book is a good example of bourgeois comparative economic history. It addresses the question of why inequality between "the west and the rest" has been increasing dramatically rather than falling as most orthodox development economists would want. The book includes some fine and useful papers, especially on the economic development of Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe, and on the Schumpeterian analysis of technical progress.' About the Author Edited by Derek H. Aldcroft, Fellow, University of Leicester and Ross E. Catterall, Cambridge International Education Centre, UK