Reclaiming Development is a very well-argued and accessible account of how national and international economic policy might be conducted differently.

The authors provide a very succinct yet persuasive argument as to why stakeholders in international development may wish to consider shifting away from neoliberal international economic policy.

Cover description:

‘There is no alternative’ – to neoliberal economics, the Americanization of the world’s economies, and globalization. This remains the driving assumption within the international development policy establishment. In this book, two economists, Ha-Joon Change and Ilene Grabel, cogently explain this dominant school’s main assertions about how economies develop and the policies that all countries ought to pursue. The authors then combine data and a devastating economic logic with an analysis of the historical experiences of leading Western and East Asian economies during their development, in order to question the validity of the neoliberal development model.

Turning to policy, the authors set out concrete, practical alternatives to neoliberalism across the key economic areas: trade and industrial policy; privatization; intellectual property rights; external borrowing, portfolio and foreign direct investment; domestic financial regulation; and management of exchange rates, central banking and monetary policy, and government revenue and expenditure. In doing so, they advocate the most useful proposals that have emerged around the world along with some innovative measures of their own.

This empowering and accessible book seeks to be of practical usefulness to students of development and to those, in government and beyond, looking for concrete policy ideas. The hope is that it will stimulate discussion of the ways in which development policies can be reclaimed by those seeking to promote rapid economic growth that is equitable, stable and sustainable.

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