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Meier |
Biographer of Development Economics
After 50 years of teaching the sometimes preachy subject of development, Jerry Meier's self-deprecating approach continues to appeal to students. Meier has written "Biography of a Subject—An Evolution of Development Economics," in which he highlights the influence of development theory on policymaking and on the mixed record of successes and failures in promoting development efforts, interpreting the past treatment of development problems with the present and future in mind.
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Peter Blair Henry: Equity Market Liberalizations Benefit Developing Nations
In his ongoing research, economist Peter Henry continues to find evidence that developing countries do indeed benefit from the liberalization of capital markets. The infusion of foreign monies results in a drop in the cost of capital in these nations, an upswing in stock prices, a surge in investments in business, and an increase in the standard of living. Details
The Central Role of Entrepreneurs in Transition Economies
John McMillan and Christopher Woodruff summarize entrepreneurial patterns in transition economies, particularly Russia, China, Poland and Vietnam. Markets developed spontaneously but they were built at varying speeds. Some governments impeded entrepreneurs by creating conditions that made it hard for informal contracting to work; others created an environment that was conducive to self-help. The spontaneous emergence of markets, however, has its limits. As firms' activities became more complex, they needed formal institutions. Some governments fostered entrepreneurship by building market-supporting infrastructure; others did not. The authors argue that the success or failure of a transition economy can be traced in large part to the performance of its entrepreneurs.
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