Poverty Traps

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Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691170932
Total Pages : 251 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis Poverty Traps by : Samuel Bowles

Download or read book Poverty Traps written by Samuel Bowles and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-31 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much popular belief--and public policy--rests on the idea that those born into poverty have it in their power to escape. But the persistence of poverty and ever-growing economic inequality around the world have led many economists to seriously question the model of individual economic self-determination when it comes to the poor. In Poverty Traps, Samuel Bowles, Steven Durlauf, Karla Hoff, and the book's other contributors argue that there are many conditions that may trap individuals, groups, and whole economies in intractable poverty. For the first time the editors have brought together the perspectives of economics, economic history, and sociology to assess what we know--and don't know--about such traps. Among the sources of the poverty of nations, the authors assign a primary role to social and political institutions, ranging from corruption to seemingly benign social customs such as kin systems. Many of the institutions that keep nations poor have deep roots in colonial history and persist long after their initial causes are gone. Neighborhood effects--influences such as networks, role models, and aspirations--can create hard-to-escape pockets of poverty even in rich countries. Similar individuals in dissimilar socioeconomic environments develop different preferences and beliefs that can transmit poverty or affluence from generation to generation. The book presents evidence of harmful neighborhood effects and discusses policies to overcome them, with attention to the uncertainty that exists in evaluating such policies.

How China Escaped the Poverty Trap

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Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 1501706403
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis How China Escaped the Poverty Trap by : Yuen Yuen Ang

Download or read book How China Escaped the Poverty Trap written by Yuen Yuen Ang and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2016-09-06 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE 2017 PETER KATZENSTEIN BOOK PRIZE "BEST OF BOOKS IN 2017" BY FOREIGN AFFAIRS WINNER OF THE 2018 VIVIAN ZELIZER PRIZE BEST BOOK AWARD IN ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY "How China Escaped the Poverty Trap truly offers game-changing ideas for the analysis and implementation of socio-economic development and should have a major impact across many social sciences." ― Zelizer Best Book in Economic Sociology Prize Committee Acclaimed as "game changing" and "field shifting," How China Escaped the Poverty Trap advances a new paradigm in the political economy of development and sheds new light on China's rise. How can poor and weak societies escape poverty traps? Political economists have traditionally offered three answers: "stimulate growth first," "build good institutions first," or "some fortunate nations inherited good institutions that led to growth." Yuen Yuen Ang rejects all three schools of thought and their underlying assumptions: linear causation, a mechanistic worldview, and historical determinism. Instead, she launches a new paradigm grounded in complex adaptive systems, which embraces the reality of interdependence and humanity's capacity to innovate. Combining this original lens with more than 400 interviews with Chinese bureaucrats and entrepreneurs, Ang systematically reenacts the complex process that turned China from a communist backwater into a global juggernaut in just 35 years. Contrary to popular misconceptions, she shows that what drove China's great transformation was not centralized authoritarian control, but "directed improvisation"—top-down directions from Beijing paired with bottom-up improvisation among local officials. Her analysis reveals two broad lessons on development. First, transformative change requires an adaptive governing system that empowers ground-level actors to create new solutions for evolving problems. Second, the first step out of the poverty trap is to "use what you have"—harnessing existing resources to kick-start new markets, even if that means defying first-world norms. Bold and meticulously researched, How China Escaped the Poverty Trap opens up a whole new avenue of thinking for scholars, practitioners, and anyone seeking to build adaptive systems.

The Economics of Poverty Traps

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Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022657430X
Total Pages : 425 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (265 download)

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Book Synopsis The Economics of Poverty Traps by : Christopher B. Barrett

Download or read book The Economics of Poverty Traps written by Christopher B. Barrett and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2018-12-07 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What circumstances or behaviors turn poverty into a cycle that perpetuates across generations? The answer to this question carries especially important implications for the design and evaluation of policies and projects intended to reduce poverty. Yet a major challenge analysts and policymakers face in understanding poverty traps is the sheer number of mechanisms—not just financial, but also environmental, physical, and psychological—that may contribute to the persistence of poverty all over the world. The research in this volume explores the hypothesis that poverty is self-reinforcing because the equilibrium behaviors of the poor perpetuate low standards of living. Contributions explore the dynamic, complex processes by which households accumulate assets and increase their productivity and earnings potential, as well as the conditions under which some individuals, groups, and economies struggle to escape poverty. Investigating the full range of phenomena that combine to generate poverty traps—gleaned from behavioral, health, and resource economics as well as the sociology, psychology, and environmental literatures—chapters in this volume also present new evidence that highlights both the insights and the limits of a poverty trap lens. The framework introduced in this volume provides a robust platform for studying well-being dynamics in developing economies.

Escaping the Energy Poverty Trap

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Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262349310
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (623 download)

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Book Synopsis Escaping the Energy Poverty Trap by : Michael Aklin

Download or read book Escaping the Energy Poverty Trap written by Michael Aklin and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2018-12-04 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first comprehensive political science account of energy poverty, arguing that governments can improve energy access for their citizens through appropriate policy design. In today's industrialized world, almost everything we do consumes energy. While industrialized countries enjoy all the amenities of modern energy, more than a billion people in the developing world still lack energy access. Why is energy poverty persistent in some countries and not in others? Offering the first comprehensive political science account of energy poverty, Escaping the Energy Poverty Trap explores why governments have or have not been able to lead in providing modern energy to their least advantaged citizens. Focusing on access to modern cooking fuels and household electrification, the authors develop a new political-economic theory that introduces government interest, institutional capacity, and local accountability as key determinants of energy access. They draw on case studies from India, East Asia, Africa, and Latin America to offer the optimistic conclusion that governments can improve institutional capacity and local accountability through appropriate policy design. Energy poverty is a policy problem, the authors assert, and engaging with it as such offers new opportunities not only for ensuring equal energy access, but also for political, economic, and environmental development.

Poverty, AIDS and Hunger

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Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 0230627706
Total Pages : 251 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (36 download)

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Book Synopsis Poverty, AIDS and Hunger by : A. Conroy

Download or read book Poverty, AIDS and Hunger written by A. Conroy and published by Springer. This book was released on 2006-10-30 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using the experiences of Malawi, one of the poorest countries on the African continent, to illustrate both the challenges that poverty creates, and the opportunities for change that exist. Poverty, AIDS and Hunger outlines an easily-replicable model, at modest cost, that could lift people quickly out of poverty, with sustainable benefits.

Out of the Poverty Trap

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 280 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Out of the Poverty Trap by : Stuart M. Butler

Download or read book Out of the Poverty Trap written by Stuart M. Butler and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Breaking Out of the Poverty Trap

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Author :
Publisher : World Scientific
ISBN 13 : 1938134095
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (381 download)

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Book Synopsis Breaking Out of the Poverty Trap by : Luolin Wang

Download or read book Breaking Out of the Poverty Trap written by Luolin Wang and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides unique insights into the challenges and potential solutions to alleviate poverty in western China. Many people are interested in China's economic and social development; the development of Tibet is an important part of this narrative. Unlike big cities in the east of China, Tibet is still underdeveloped, with severe poverty, relatively poor communications, poor infrastructure, transport links, and limited social services. Using deep and well-researched analyses, learned Chinese scholars share their policy insights, experience and knowledge of the underlying causes and potential solutions to this underdevelopment and poverty. The reader is also provided with firsthand accounts of different people in Tibet, ranging from local government officials to poverty-stricken herdsmen. This book gets at the heart of problems faced by ordinary Tibetans, such as dealing with impacts of natural disasters, lack of education, managing ecological resettlement, and trying to prevent the transmission of intergenerational poverty. Looking at these issues from a theoretical, policy, government and practical perspective, Breaking Out of the Poverty Trap — Case Studies from the Tibetan Plateau in Yunnan, Qinghai and Gansu covers the full range of issues in the development of the Tibetan Plateau. Contents:Introduction (WANG Luolin and ZHU Ling)The Rational Behavior of Tibetan Farmers and Herders (YANG Chunxue)How Do Farmers and Herdsmen Participate in the Market? (ZHU Hengpeng)Sustainable Development of the Tricholoma Matsutake Industry in Tibetan-Inhabited Regions of Yunnan, and Their Participation in the Global Market: Discussions Based on Value Chain Analysis (YAO Yu)The Socioeconomic Impact of Cordyceps Sinensis Resource Management in Tibetan-Inhabited Regions of Qinghai (YAO Yu)Impoverishment Risks Caused by the Ecological Resettlement Project (JIN Chengwu)Preventing Intergenerational Poverty Transmission with Antenatal Care (ZHU Ling)Research on Compulsory Education in the Tibetan Regions of Qinghai and Yunnan Provinces (WEI Zhong)Effects of Radio and TV on the Cultural Lives of Farmers and Herdsmen (ZHOU Ji)Private and Social Aid in the Eastern Tibetan Regions (WEI Zhong)Snow Disasters and Relief Efforts: A Case Study of Tibetan Pastoral Areas in Southern Qinghai (ZHALUO)Systems and Technologies for Snow Disaster Prevention: Anthropological Observations on the Pastoral Areas in the Eastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (ZHALUO) Readership: Undergraduates, graduates, academics and professionals interested in poverty alleviation and the social, cultural and economic development of Tibet, as well as the general public. Keywords:Tibet;Poverty Alleviation;Economic Development;Farmers;Herdsmen;Market Participation;Value Chain Analysis;Yunnan;Ecological Resettlement;Qinghai;Antenatal Care;Obligatory Education;Minimum Living Standard Guarantee;Culture;Radio;TV;Disaster Relief;Disaster PreventionKey Features:Covers poverty issues from the perspectives of many disciplines (with contributors from economics, population studies, ethnic studies and history background), providing diverse views of the situation across a broad spectrum of subjects (ranging from local government officials, businessmen, farmers, herders to ordinary people)Writers tap on their experience and knowledge about Tibet to provide unique insights into Tibet's geography, history, society and culture, and to explore the effectiveness of policies in TibetPresents Tibet's economic and social developments in an accessible manner — indispensable to anyone trying to understand the development of China and its Tibetan areas

Poor Economics

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Publisher : PublicAffairs
ISBN 13 : 1610391608
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis Poor Economics by : Abhijit V. Banerjee

Download or read book Poor Economics written by Abhijit V. Banerjee and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2012-03-27 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics upend the most common assumptions about how economics works in this gripping and disruptive portrait of how poor people actually live. Why do the poor borrow to save? Why do they miss out on free life-saving immunizations, but pay for unnecessary drugs? In Poor Economics, Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, two award-winning MIT professors, answer these questions based on years of field research from around the world. Called "marvelous, rewarding" by the Wall Street Journal, the book offers a radical rethinking of the economics of poverty and an intimate view of life on 99 cents a day. Poor Economics shows that creating a world without poverty begins with understanding the daily decisions facing the poor.

The Aid Trap

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Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231519508
Total Pages : 217 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis The Aid Trap by : R. Glenn Hubbard

Download or read book The Aid Trap written by R. Glenn Hubbard and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2009-08-31 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past twenty years more citizens in China and India have raised themselves out of poverty than anywhere else at any time in history. They accomplished this through the local business sector the leading source of prosperity for all rich countries. In most of Africa and other poor regions the business sector is weak, but foreign aid continues to fund government and NGOs. Switching aid to the local business sector in order to cultivate a middle class is the oldest, surest, and only way to eliminate poverty in poor countries. A bold fusion of ethics and smart business, The Aid Trap shows how the same energy, goodwill, and money that we devote to charity can help local business thrive. R. Glenn Hubbard and William Duggan, two leading scholars in business and finance, demonstrate that by diverting a major share of charitable aid into the local business sector of poor countries, citizens can take the lead in the growth of their own economies. Although the aid system supports noble goals, a local well-digging company cannot compete with a foreign charity that digs wells for free. By investing in that local company a sustainable system of development can take root.

Financial Exclusion and the Poverty Trap

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136626395
Total Pages : 230 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (366 download)

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Book Synopsis Financial Exclusion and the Poverty Trap by : Paul Mosley

Download or read book Financial Exclusion and the Poverty Trap written by Paul Mosley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-02-27 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The persistence of poverty hurts us all, and attacking poverty is a major policy objective everywhere. In Britain, the main political parties have an anti-poverty mandate and in particular an agreed commitment to eliminate child poverty by 2020, but there is controversy over how this should be done. This book addresses one of the main causes of poverty, financial exclusion – the inability to access finance from the high-street banks. People on low or irregular incomes typically have to resort to loan sharks, ‘doorstep lenders’ and other informal credit sources, a predicament which makes escape from the poverty trap doubly difficult. Over the last fifteen years, a strategy of breaking down the poverty trap has been implemented, known in the UK as community development financial institutions (CDFIs), typically non-profit lending institutions focussed on the financially excluded, and seeking to learn from the achievements of microfinance around the world. Focussing on the period 2007-09, during which the UK went into a global recession, this book investigates how CDFIs work and how well they have helped low-income people and businesses to weather that recession. Based on a study of eight CDFIs in four UK cities, we ask: what ideas for overcoming financial exclusion have worked well, and which have worked badly? What can we learn from the experience of these CDFIs which can help reduce poverty in this country and globally? We assess the impact of CDFIs using a range of indicators (including income, assets, education, health) and ask what changes in policy by both CDFIs and government agencies (for example, benefits agencies) might be able to increase impact. Some of the key lessons are: CDFIs need to work with appropriate partners to build up savings capacity in their clients; the community environment is vital in determining who escapes from the poverty trap; and CDFIs can never function properly unless they learn how to control their overdue debts. This book will be vital reading for those concerned with social policy, microfinance and anti-poverty policies in industrialised countries and around the world.

The Economics of Crime

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226153762
Total Pages : 536 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (261 download)

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Book Synopsis The Economics of Crime by : Rafael Di Tella

Download or read book The Economics of Crime written by Rafael Di Tella and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2010-08-02 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Crime rates in Latin America are among the highest in the world, creating climates of fear and lawlessness in several countries. Despite this situation, there has been a lack of systematic effort to study crime in the region or the effectiveness of policies designed to tackle it. The Economics of Crime is a powerful corrective to this academic blind spot and makes an important contribution to the current debate on causes and solutions by applying lessons learned from recent developments in the economics of crime. The Economics of Crime addresses a variety of topics, including the impact of kidnappings on investment, mandatory arrest laws, education in prisons, and the relationship between poverty and crime. Utilizining research from within and without Latin America, this book illustrates the broad range of approaches that have been efficacious in studying crime in both developing and developed nations. The Economics of Crime is a vital text for researchers, policymakers, and students of both crime and of Latin American economic policy.

The Inequality Trap

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Publisher : University of Toronto Press
ISBN 13 : 1442624957
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (426 download)

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Book Synopsis The Inequality Trap by : William Watson

Download or read book The Inequality Trap written by William Watson and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2015-09-15 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: US President Barack Obama has called economic inequality the “defining issue of our time.” It has inspired the “Occupy” movements, made a French economist into a global celebrity, and given us a new expression – the “one percent.” But is our preoccupation with inequality really justified? Or wise? In his new book, William Watson argues that focusing on inequality is both an error and a trap. It is an error because much inequality is “good,” the reward for thrift, industry, and invention. It is a trap because it leads us to fixate on the top end of the income distribution, rather than on those at the bottom who need help most. In fact, if we respond to growing inequality by fighting capitalism rather than poverty, we may end up both poorer and less equal. Explaining the complexities of modern economics in a clear, accessible style, The Inequality Trap is the must-read rejoinder to the idea that fighting inequality should be our top policy priority.

The Development Trap

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1351273787
Total Pages : 172 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (512 download)

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Book Synopsis The Development Trap by : Adam D. Kiš

Download or read book The Development Trap written by Adam D. Kiš and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-03-05 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A wave of optimism is sweeping through the international aid and development industry, championed by leaders such as Jeffrey Sachs and Jim Yong Kim, who believe that poverty eradication could be within our grasp. Yet in stark opposition come those who believe that all international development intervention is hegemonic, paternalistic, and neocolonialist and must be done away with. In this book, Adam D. Kiš argues for a middle ground. Poverty is an entrenched, intractable problem that will never be entirely eradicated. However, if we reorientate our objectives in line with realistic goals that improve the way that poverty is confronted on a smaller scale, we can still continue the fight for meaningful change. Using rigorous scholarship illustrated with vivid storytelling and personal anecdotes from fighting against poverty in the field, The Development Trap argues that we need to make progress against poverty on the micro, rather than the macro scale. Instead of shooting for a single overarching end of poverty, our goals must be modest and reachable. Poverty still won’t go away, on a macro scale, but it can go away for specific individuals - in fact, it already happens all the time. The Development Trap is a compelling account of the challenges of eradicating poverty, and the possibilities for meaningful change at a smaller scale. It will be perfect for international development professionals, students and scholars, and for those with a general interest in the future of aid and development.

The Bottom Billion

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Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0195374630
Total Pages : 225 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (953 download)

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Book Synopsis The Bottom Billion by : Paul Collier

Download or read book The Bottom Billion written by Paul Collier and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2008-10-02 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bottom Billion is an elegant and impassioned synthesis from one of the world's leading experts on Africa and poverty. It was hailed as "the best non-fiction book so far this year" by Nicholas Kristoff of The New York Times.

Frontiers in Development Policy

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Publisher : World Bank Publications
ISBN 13 : 0821387855
Total Pages : 317 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (213 download)

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Book Synopsis Frontiers in Development Policy by : Shahid Yusuf

Download or read book Frontiers in Development Policy written by Shahid Yusuf and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2011-09-15 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The global crisis of 2008-09 has brought to the forefront a plethora of economic and political policy issues. There is a re-opening of discussion on basic economic concepts, appropriate framework for analysis, role of private and public sectors in the economy, structural transformation of economies, human development and managing of growing risks and crises. The purpose of this book has been to bring home the inter-linkages in various parts of the economy and the need for practical policy making to reach development goals while being aware of the instabilities, complexities and downside risks inherent in the nature of a an economy operating in a globalized world. Thematically, this book focuses on two core types of policy: policies that promote strong, sustainable and inclusive growth in low income and middle income developing countries and new and emerging policies that necessitates a discussion amongst policy makers and practitioners. Throughout the book, the authors provide insight in to the different types of policy approaches that can be taken to help the economy grow. Ultimately the book looks to foster discussion amongst policy makers on growth and development.

Fiscal Policy and the Natural Resources Curse

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Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1317370155
Total Pages : 246 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (173 download)

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Book Synopsis Fiscal Policy and the Natural Resources Curse by : Paul Mosley

Download or read book Fiscal Policy and the Natural Resources Curse written by Paul Mosley and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-02-17 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is widely accepted that natural resource wealth, especially in the form of oil and minerals, can be a key factor in inhibiting economic development. Many of the countries that are richest in natural resources – including oil, metals and diamonds – are amongst the world’s poorest. Why? Fiscal Policy and the Natural Resources Curse re-examines this ancient, unsolved puzzle, asking why many governments of natural resource-intensive countries are incapable, in a globalised world, of dealing with the natural-resource curse. This book offers a detailed analysis of the power-relationships which underpin the natural resource curse, using both statistical analysis and country case studies from Africa and Latin America to pinpoint the strategies that have enable developing countries to break out of the poverty trap. The book differs from other works on this subject, as it not only identifies the issues at stake but also offers solutions in the form of a series of suggested policy measures. The work focusses in particular on fiscal escape routes, namely measures to develop and diversify the tax system, and to reallocate and target public expenditure. This volume will be of great interest to scholars of economic development, the economics of natural resources and economic growth as well as all those with an interest in development, global politics and anti-poverty policies.

China's Gilded Age

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Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1108802389
Total Pages : 275 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (88 download)

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Book Synopsis China's Gilded Age by : Yuen Yuen Ang

Download or read book China's Gilded Age written by Yuen Yuen Ang and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-28 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why has China grown so fast for so long despite vast corruption? In China's Gilded Age, Yuen Yuen Ang maintains that all corruption is harmful, but not all types of corruption hurt growth. Ang unbundles corruption into four varieties: petty theft, grand theft, speed money, and access money. While the first three types impede growth, access money - elite exchanges of power and profit - cuts both ways: it stimulates investment and growth but produces serious risks for the economy and political system. Since market opening, corruption in China has evolved toward access money. Using a range of data sources, the author explains the evolution of Chinese corruption, how it differs from the West and other developing countries, and how Xi's anti-corruption campaign could affect growth and governance. In this formidable yet accessible book, Ang challenges one-dimensional measures of corruption. By unbundling the problem and adopting a comparative-historical lens, she reveals that the rise of capitalism was not accompanied by the eradication of corruption, but rather by its evolution from thuggery and theft to access money. In doing so, she changes the way we think about corruption and capitalism, not only in China but around the world.