Reconstructing development theory : international inequality, institutional reform and social emancipation / E.A. Brett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brett, E. A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic development--Developing countries.

Economic development.

Economic development--Government policy.

Developing countries.

Developing countries--Economic policy.

Economic policy.

Developing countries--Economic conditions.

Economic conditions.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 341 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

Summary:

Reconstructing Development Theory provides a systematic assessment of the evolution of development theory and its relationship to other social science disciplines. The author offers a careful reassessment of the 'great debates' of the 1960s and 70s and the rise of neoliberalism and subsequently a more pluralistic institutionalism to dominate thinking about development today.

While in many ways liberal pluralism represents a significant advance, Brett shows how it fails to address some key problems of late and uneven development and he draws on insights from a whole range of traditions to point up how these can be transcended.

Contents:

Introduction: Reconstructing Development Theory for the 21st Century 1

The argument 8

Part I The Nature of Development Theory 15

1 The Crisis in Development Theory 17

Paradigm conflicts and the developmental crisis 17

Science, agency and developmental transitions 19

Positivism, atomistic individualism and cultural relativism 23

Development theory, western imperialism and cultural autonomy 25

From right-or left-wing structuralism to neoliberalism 27

Conclusions 32

2 The Basic Assumptions of Development Theory 34

The idea of development and structural change 34

Development as a normative aspiration 36

Incrementalism, planning and developmental transitions 38

Managing transitions: structuralism, markets and dualistic development 42

Teleology, linearity and hybridity in development theory 46

Conclusions 49

3 Evolutionary Institutional Change and Developmental Transitions 51

Agency, institutional change and developmental transitions 52

An evolutionary approach to developmental transformations 56

Positivism, methodological individualism and evolutionary change 60

Corporate capitalism, extended cooperation and uneven development 64

Evolutionary theory, cultural relativism and dualistic development 67

Evolutionary transformations, science and the politics of development 69

Conclusions 73

Part II The Institutional Arrangements of Liberal Democratic Capitalism 77

4 Market Societies, Open Systems and Institutional Pluralism 79

From paradigm conflicts to liberal institutional pluralism 79

The structural and normative implications of institutional pluralism 83

The benefits, costs and social consequences of market-based systems 87

The political implications of economic regulation 98

Conclusions 101

5 State Regulation, Democratic Politics and Accountable Governance 104

Political authority, organizational autonomy and complex interdependence 104

State power, political markets and democratic accountability 114

Conclusions 122

6 Politics, Bureaucracy and Hierarchy in Public Management Systems 124

Democracy, bureaucracy and good governance 124

The political economy of bureaucratic reform 127

The benefits and risks of new public management 135

Conclusions 139

7 Hierarchy, Quasi-markets and Solidarity in Capitalist Firms 142

Imperfect information, opportunism and hierarchy in capitalist firms 143

From command to consent: reforming hierarchical management systems 146

Conclusions 153

8 Incentives and Accountability in Solidaristic Organizations 155

Solidaristic organizations and institutional pluralism 155

Functions and authority in solidaristic organizations 157

Incentives, accountability and efficiency in solidaristic organizations 159

Conclusions 171

Part III Explaining Blocked Development 173

9 Competing Models and Developmental Transitions 175

Back to the future: from liberal pluralism to development theory 175

Formal models, objective possibilities and social change 178

Classifying and evaluating alternative politicoeconomic models 182

Competing models, political competition and developmental transitions 187

Conclusions 191

10 Learning from History 193

Market failures, start-up problems and state-led development 193

States and markets in early capitalists development 195

Structuralism, liberalization and crisis in postcolonial Africa 202

Conclusions 213

11 Explaining Blocked Development 216

The limits of liberal pluralism 216

Contradictory cultures, market failures and start-up problems 219

Dualism, contested transitions and blocked development 223

Conclusions 228

12 A Theory of Developmental Transformations 231

Towards a sociology of developmental change 231

Collective values, social institutionalism and human agency 233

Dualism, historical relativism and institutional hybridity 238

Conclusions 251

13 Building Strong States 254

Problems of democratic consolidation in late development 256

Authoritarianism, structuralism and democratic transitions or breakdowns 259

Donors, governments and the politics of noncompliance 266

Managing political and policy processes in weak states 268

Conclusions 274

14 Building Capitalist Economies 278

Maximizing comparative advantage and eliminating political rents 278

Infant economies and states, primary accumulation and managed markets 282

Scale economies, liberalization and uneven development 282

Economic policy regimes and late-late development 289

Conclusions 291.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780230229808

0230229808

9780230229815

0230229816

OCLC:

317926892