Economics Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Developing countries: Developing countries are sovereign states with a less developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. They are characterized by lower standards of living and poorer health, education, and infrastructure compared to developed countries. See also Development economics._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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Murray N. Rothbard on Developing Countries - Dictionary of Arguments
Rothbard III 969 Growth/Developing countries/Rothbard: Concomitantly with the hubbub about growth there has developed an enormous literature about the "economics of underdeveloped countries." We can here note only a few considerations. 1) First, contrary to a widespread impression, "neoclassical" economics applies just as fully to underdeveloped as to any other countries. In fact, as P. T. Bauer has often stressed, the economic discipline is in some ways sharper in less developed countries because of the extra option that many People have of reverting from a monetary to a barter economy. An underdeveloped country can grow only in the same ways as a more advanced country: largely via capital investment. The economic laws which we have adumbrated throughout this volume are independent of the specific content of any community's or nation's economy, and therefore independent of its level of development. >Neoclassical Economics. 2) Secondly, underdeveloped countries are especially prone to the wasteful, dramatic, prestigious government "investment" in such projects as Steel mills or dams, as contrasted with economic, but undramatic, private investment in improved agricultural tools.(1),(2) 3) Thirdly, the term "underdeveloped" is definitely value-loaded to imply that certain countries are "too little" developed below some sort of imposed standard. As Wiggins and Schoeck point out, "undeveloped" would be a more objective term.(3) 1. The prolific writings of Professor Bauer are a particularly fruitful source of analysis of the problems of the underdeveloped countries. In addition to the references above, see especially Bauer's excellent United States Aid and Indian Economic Development (Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Association, November, 1959); his West African Trade (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1954); "Lewis' Theory of Economic Growth," American Economic Review, September, 1956, pp. 632-41; "A Reply," Journal of Political Economy, October, 1956, pp. 435-41; and P.T. Bauer and B.S. Yamey, "The Economics of Marketing Reform," Journal of Political Economy, June, 19 54, pp. 210-34. The following quotation from Bauer's Study on India is instructive for its analysis of central planning as well as development: „As a corollary of reserving a large (and increasing) sector of the economy for the government, private enterprise and investment, both Indian and foreign, are banned from a wide range of industrial and commercial activity. These restrictions and barriers affect not only private Indian investment, but also the entry of foreign capital, enterprise and skill, which inevitably retards economic development. Such measures are thus paradoxical in View of the alleged emphasis on economic advance.“ (Bauer, United States Aid, p. 43) Bauer's chief defect is a tendency to underweigh the role of capital in economic development. 2.It is fascinating to discover, in 1925-26, before Soviet Russia became committed to full socialism and coerced industrialization, Soviet leaders and economists attacking central planning and forced industry and calling for economic reliance on private peasantry. After 1926, however, the Soviet planned economy deliberately planned uneconomically for forced heavy industry in order to establish an autarkic socialism. See Edward H. Carr, socialism In One Country, 1921-1926 (New York: Macmillan & Co., 1958), 1, 259 f., 316, 35 1, 503-13. On the Hungarian experience, see Ray, "Industrial Planning in Hungary," pp. 134 ff. 3. Wiggins and Schoeck, Scientism and Values, p. v. This symposium has many illuminating articles on the whole problem of underdevelopment. In addition to the Bauer article cited above, see especially the contributions of Rippy, Groseclose, Stokes, Schoeck, Haberler and Wiggins. Also see the critique of the concept of underdevelopment in Jacob Viner, International Trade and Economic Development (Glencoe, 111.: Free Press, 1952), pp. 120 ff._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Rothbard II Murray N. Rothbard Classical Economics. An Austrian Perspective on the History of Economic Thought. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Cheltenham 1995 Rothbard III Murray N. Rothbard Man, Economy and State with Power and Market. Study Edition Auburn, Alabama 1962, 1970, 2009 Rothbard IV Murray N. Rothbard The Essential von Mises Auburn, Alabama 1988 Rothbard V Murray N. Rothbard Power and Market: Government and the Economy Kansas City 1977 |
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