5 new books for academics, campaigners and policy makers

In the current academic discourse, where the study of development has been somewhat relegated into the background by contemporary economics, three new books published by Tulika Books, New Delhi and Zed Books, London, edited by Jomo K.S. along with Ben Fine and Erik. S. Reinert, attempt to rediscover and reinterpret the significance of 'Development Economics' by; delving into its origins in terms of highlighting the enduring developmental concerns of earlier economic discourses, its evolution as in the works of renowned economic thinkers, as well as its newest exposition post Washington Consensus. The focus on development is not new, argue the authors, but have actually been the predominant strain in early economic thought until the 1960s. Two other books edited by Jomo K.S., published under the theme 'The long Twentieth Century' by Oxford University Press, New Delhi, trace the nature of hegemony that has dominated the period of globalization, and underline how this has led to a new world economy marked by divergence and increasing inequalities.

IDEAs showcases these books in an attempt to draw critical attention to these overwhelmingly important issues of yesterday, today and tomorrow. This section also features a speech by Jomo K.S., delivered at the book launch at the University of Buenes Aires in February, in which he discusses the rationale and motivation behind the books.

Speech by Jomo K.S., during the book Launch ceremony at the University of Buenos Aires, 23 Feb, 2006.

I'm very pleased to be here in Buenos Aires to introduce these five books which have recently been published in India and have been sponsored by SEPHIS. Although considered less prestigious in Western academic circles, I've deliberately chosen to publish in the South as that is our principal audience, our target readership. Also publishing in India means that these books are available for relatively low prices if ordered from source.

I hope you find these books worthwhile and worth engaging more fully. I hope very much that you might find some of it worth translating and disseminating more widely among Latin American development economists who wish to know, recapture and build upon our rich heritage. I'm especially touched by the discussants’ generous remarks. It is a great honour to see so many distinguished economists in this gathering, including Professor Also Ferrer, whose writings I appreciated so much when I first started learning about Latin America more than three decades ago.

There are two volumes in The Long 20th century collection published by Oxford University Press. The first volume deals primarily with processes of globalisation while the second volume deals mainly with the uneven development of regions in the world during the period under consideration. Let me first begin by discussing the context in which these books were prepared. As you know, the great historian Eric Hobsbawm published a book entitled The Short 20th Century several years ago. His volume deals principally with the period from the Bolshevik Revolution of what might be called state socialism and covers the period from 1917 to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Another important consideration has been the influence of the theory of imperialism pioneered by John Hobson and later popularised by Vladimir Ilyich, better known as Lenin . Hobson, of course, was probably the most eminent liberal economist of his time. From a 19th century liberal perspective, he was very critical of the emergence of what we now call oligopoly and monopoly, which he associated with the concentration of capital. For Hobson, the concentration of capital was extremely inegalitarian, but more importantly, had given rise to abuses as powerful business interests increasingly shaped public policies leading to imperialism and colonialism.

For Hobson and Lenin, the period of imperialism began in the last third of the 19th century. In the preparation of this volume, however, I was forced to go back, not once, but twice. First, I was persuaded by the Gallagher Robinson thesis on the imperialism of free trade from the mid-19 century. This was, of course, after Britain had achieved manufacturing technological superiority. Then, I was also forced to recognise the significant contribution of capital from British colonies, particularly the West Indies as well as India, for financing the Industrial Revolution from the early 19th century. Thus, what began as the long 20th century stretched back almost to the beginning of the 19th century.

Another important motivation for these volumes has been the recent celebration of empire, especially after the tragic events of 9/11. We have seen many influential books as well as editorial opinions touting the many ostensible virtues of imperialism. Most importantly, the most influential historian of our times, Niall Ferguson has published two widely read volumes on the ostensible virtues of the British Empire (Empire) as well as the need for the American leadership to recognise its imperial responsibilities in order to meet its historic calling. In the year 2004, Professor Deepak Lal, the author of The Poverty Of Development Economics, published his In Praise Of Empires.

Our volume also underscores the crucial role of the state from earlier times in leading developmental processes. As Amiya Bagchi shows, this was true for the Dutch Republic, 19th-century Bismarckian Germany, Meiji Japan as well as the other East Asian success stories of the late 20th century. Ha-Joon Chang shows the important role of selective public policy interventions in catching up by various economies including the US in the 19th century.

The second volume shows how disparities in the world economy increased significantly from the early 19th century, as emphasised by Bourguignon and Morrison as well as by Angus Maddison. This is demonstrated through various regional studies which show how Latin America as well as Africa failed to develop on a sustainable basis as they were integrated into the world economy from the 19th century.

The other three volumes deal with the history of development economics. They demonstrate that until fairly recently, economics was primarily about economic development rather than achieving equilibrium. The Origins Of Development Economics examines various major schools of economic thinking from about six centuries ago. Economic thinking from the time of the Italian city states, Mercantilism, the German historical school, early growth theory, early international trade theory as well as Latin American structuralism and dependency theory all clearly focus on achieving economic development.

The Pioneers Of Development Economics has three almost distinct parts. The first part deals primarily with influential economists who shaped international economic relations and consequently economic development in ways which have been enduring. William Petty shaped the English colonial relationship with Ireland which had a profound influence on subsequent European relations with the South ever since. Likewise, David Ricardo’s theory of comparative advantage continues to legitimise international trade relations to this day.

The second and main part of the volume deals with several prominent economists who are not recognized as development economists, but who nevertheless have been very influential for development economics thinking. Consider, for example, the influence of Alexander Hamilton, Friedrich List, Alfred Marshall, John Maynard Keynes, Michal Kalecki, Nicholas Kaldor, and Alexander Gerschenkeron, none of whom are usually considered to have been development economists. Add to this the contribution of Marx in thinking about economic development or Lenin on the agrarian question, and we have a very rich heritage for development economists to build on. In addition, we also have discussions of some pioneers of development economics as we now know it such as Raul Prebisch, Arthur Lewis and Han Singer.

The third volume is called The New Development Economics and subtitled After The Washington Consensus. As you know, the rise of the Washington consensus involved the counterrevolution against development economics as John Toye has termed it. Since the 1990s however, we have seen a resurgence of a new development economics, which is often unrecognisable for earlier generations of development economists. This new development economics -- or post Washington consensus development economics -- poses important challenges for all of us as it constitutes a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it rejects the Washington consensus but some of it also implies rejection of earlier development economics as grossly inadequate and in need of replacement.

The volume on the new development economics critically surveys many elements of its main preoccupations including trade liberalization, new growth theory, the new political economy of development, the new emphasis on technology, advocacy of privatization, the emphasis on human capital, the new economic history or cliometrics, the recent emphasis on geography and so on. This discussion also considers many fashionable contemporary buzzwords and preoccupations such as so-called social capital, corruption and governance.