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How Rich Countries Got Rich...and Why Poor Countries Stay Poor
Book

How Rich Countries Got Rich...and Why Poor Countries Stay Poor

Erik S. Reinert
Hachette Book Group UK, 2019
First Edition: 2019

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Innovative
  • Eloquent

Recommendation

Experts have long pondered why some national economies grow while others languish. Economist Erik S. Reinert looks at history to dispute the assumptions of neoclassical theories in regard to economic development. His ideas are based on what he calls “evidence amassed in the laboratory of the international economy.” Mainstream economics, for instance, can’t explain China’s dramatic growth or other countries’ economic failures. Students of economics and public policy will find this an important reference book.

Take-Aways

  • Pre-modern writings on economic development highlight issues that today’s mainstream economics neglects.
  • History shows that rich countries got rich by emulating the industrial policies of countries that had succeeded before them.
  • Only some economic activities generate the explosions in productivity that drive strong growth and development.

About the Author

Erik S. Reinert, a Norwegian citizen, is a professor at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, and at University College London. He is also the executive chairman of The Other Canon Foundation, a center for heterodox economists. How Rich Countries Got Rich...and Why Poor Countries Stay Poor has been translated into more than 20 languages.

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