IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/48147.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

How rich nations got rich. Essays in the history of economic policy

Author

Listed:
  • Reinert, Erik S.

Abstract

The debate around the effects of globalization is both widening and deepening. While some nations, like India and China – countries that have consciously built a manufacturing sector for five decades – come across as winners, a large number of smaller Third World nations seem to lose out under globalisation. The problem of failing and failed states is growing. In response to the increasing challenges, the focal points of the Washington Institutions – the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – have changed over the last 15 years, reflecting a growing recognition of the complexities of economic development. The present three essays approach the globalization problem from a different angle, by raising the question of what precisely the presently rich nations did in order to get rich. The essays document what, historically, have been the successful formulas carrying nations from poverty to wealth, and suggest that the moving target of Washington Consensus policies does not reflect or consider the experiences of the historically successful cases of nations taking the step from poor to wealthy.

Suggested Citation

  • Reinert, Erik S., 2004. "How rich nations got rich. Essays in the history of economic policy," MPRA Paper 48147, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:48147
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/48147/1/MPRA_paper_48147.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Erik Reinert & Arno Daastøl, 1997. "Exploring the Genesis of Economic Innovations: The Religious Gestalt-Switch and the Duty to Invent as Preconditions for Economic Growth," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 233-283, May.
    2. Arthur, W Brian, 1989. "Competing Technologies, Increasing Returns, and Lock-In by Historical Events," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(394), pages 116-131, March.
    3. Wolfgang Drechsler, 2000. "Etienne Laspeyres' History of the Economic Thought of the Netherlanders: A Law & Economics Classic?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 235-242, November.
    4. Erik S. Reinert & Arno M. Daastøl, 2004. "The Other Canon: The History of Renaissance Economics," Chapters, in: Erik S. Reinert (ed.), Globalization, Economic Development and Inequality, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Cosimo Perrotta, 1991. "Is the Mercantilist Theory of the Favorable Balance of Trade Really Erroneous?," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 23(2), pages 301-336, Summer.
    6. Reinert, Erik S., 1995. "Competitiveness and its predecessors--a 500-year cross-national perspective," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 23-42, March.
    7. Wolfgang Drechsler, 2004. "Natural versus Social Sciences: On Understanding in Economics," Chapters, in: Erik S. Reinert (ed.), Globalization, Economic Development and Inequality, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Small, Albion W., 1909. "The Cameralists. The Pioneers of German Social Polity," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number small1909.
    9. de Vries,Jan & van der Woude,Ad, 1997. "The First Modern Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521570619, October.
    10. Tribe,Keith, 1995. "Strategies of Economic Order," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521462914, October.
    11. Jan Fagerberg & Bart Verspagen & G. N. von Tunzelmann (ed.), 1994. "The Dynamics Of Technology, Trade And Growth," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 163.
    12. Erik S. Reinert (ed.), 2004. "Globalization, Economic Development and Inequality," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1570.
    13. Erik S. Reinert, 1999. "The role of the state in economic growth," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 26(4/5), pages 268-326, September.
    14. Erik S. Reinert, 2000. "Full circle: economics from scholasticism through innovation and back into mathematical scholasticism: Reflections on a 1769 Price essay: “Why is it that economics so far has gained so few advantages ," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 27(4/5), pages 364-376, September.
    15. Frank D. Graham, 1923. "Some Aspects of Protection Further Considered," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 37(2), pages 199-227.
    16. Grimmer-Solem, Erik, 2003. "The Rise of Historical Economics and Social Reform in Germany 1864-1894," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199260416.
    17. Carlota Perez, 2002. "Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2640.
    18. Michael Hudson, 2004. "Technical Progress and Obsolescence of Capital and Skills: Theoretical Foundations of Nineteenth-Century US Industrial and Trade Policy," Chapters, in: Erik S. Reinert (ed.), Globalization, Economic Development and Inequality, chapter 4, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. de Vries,Jan & van der Woude,Ad, 1997. "The First Modern Economy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521578257, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alexandre Mendes Cunha, 2011. "Polizei and the System of Public Finance: Tracing the Impact of Cameralism in Eighteenth-Century Portugal," Chapters, in: Heinz D. Kurz & Tamotsu Nishizawa & Keith Tribe (ed.), The Dissemination of Economic Ideas, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Erik S. Reinert, 2006. "Institutionalism Ancient, Old and New: A Historical Perspective on Institutions and Uneven Development," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-77, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. -, 2017. "Políticas industriales y tecnológicas en América Latina," Documentos de Proyectos 42363, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    4. Erik Reinert, 2005. "A Brief Introduction to Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff (1626–1692)," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 221-230, May.
    5. Federico Bassi & Cédric Durand, 2018. "Crisis in the European Monetary Union: A Core-Periphery Perspective," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 35(1), pages 251-256, April.
    6. Reinert, Erik S. & Kattel, Rainer, 2004. "The Qualitative Shift in European Integration: Towards permanent wage pressures and a ‘Latin-Americanization’ of Europe?," MPRA Paper 47909, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Erik Reinert, 2007. "Towards an Austro–German theory of uneven economic development? A plea for theorising by inclusion," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 20(2), pages 155-170, September.
    2. Erik S. Reinert, 2006. "Institutionalism Ancient, Old and New: A Historical Perspective on Institutions and Uneven Development," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-77, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Erik S. Reinert, 2009. "The Terrible Simplifers: Common Origins of Financial Crises and Persistent Poverty in Economic Theory and the new ‘1848 Moment’," Working Papers 88, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    4. Erik S. Reinert, 2006. "European Integration, Innovations and Uneven Economic Growth: Challenges and Problems of EU 2005," The Other Canon Foundation and Tallinn University of Technology Working Papers in Technology Governance and Economic Dynamics 05, TUT Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance.
    5. Broadberry Stephen, 2012. "Recent Developments in the Theory of Very Long Run Growth: A Historical Appraisal," Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook, De Gruyter, vol. 53(1), pages 277-306, May.
    6. Kyriazis, Nicholas & Metaxas, Theodore, 2012. "War for Profit: Macroculture, Corsairs and partnership companies," MPRA Paper 40926, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Mulatu, Abay, 2016. "On the concept of 'competitiveness' and its usefulness for policy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 50-62.
    8. Nicholas Kyriazis & Theodore Metaxas, 2011. "Path dependence, change and the emergence of the first joint-stock companies," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(3), pages 363-374.
    9. Rainer Kattel & Erkki Karo, 2010. "Is 'Open Innovation' Re-Inventing Innovation Policy for Catching-up Economies?," The Other Canon Foundation and Tallinn University of Technology Working Papers in Technology Governance and Economic Dynamics 30, TUT Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance.
    10. Erik S. Reinert, 2006. "Development and Social Goals: Balancing Aid and Development to Prevent ‘Welfare Colonialism’," Working Papers 14, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    11. Rose, Andrew, 2014. "The Bond Market: An Inflation-Targeter's Best Friend," CEPR Discussion Papers 10124, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Gonçola Monteiro & Alvaro Pereira, 2006. "From Growth Spurts to Sustained Growth," Discussion Papers 06/24, Department of Economics, University of York.
    13. Studer, Roman, 2008. "India and the Great Divergence: Assessing the Efficiency of Grain Markets in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century India," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(2), pages 393-437, June.
    14. Andre Nassif & Carmem Aparecida Feijo & Eliane Araújo, 2016. "Structural change, catching up and falling behind in the BRICS: A comparative analysis based on trade pattern and Thirlwall’s Law," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 69(279), pages 373-421.
    15. Wallis, Patrick, 2010. "Exotic drugs and English medicine: England’s drug trade, c.1550-c.1800," Economic History Working Papers 28577, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    16. Broadberry, Stephen & Ghosal, Sayantan & Proto, Eugenio, 2011. "Is Anonymity the Missing Link Between Commercial and Industrial Revolution?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 974, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    17. Zuijderduijn, Jaco, 2016. "The Ages of Women and Men : Life Cycles, Family and Investment in the Fifteenth-Century Low Countries," Lund Papers in Economic History 150, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    18. Peter Foldvari & Bas van Leeuwen & Jan Luiten van Zanden, 2012. "The contribution of migration to economic development in Holland and the Netherlands 1510-1900," Working Papers 0025, Utrecht University, Centre for Global Economic History.
    19. Militiades N. Georgiou & Nicholas Kyriazis & Emmanouil M. L. Economou, 2015. "Democracy, Political Stability and Economic performance. A Panel Data Analysis," Journal of Risk & Control, Risk Market Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 1-18.
    20. Lionel Artige & Carmen Camacho & David De La Croix, 2004. "Wealth Breeds Decline: Reversals of Leadership and Consumption Habits," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 423-449, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic history; economic development; German Historical School; institutions; modern economic thought; globalisation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B15 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary
    • B20 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - General
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:48147. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.