Surely one of the best textbooks on Development Economics

---

Product Description

The study of development in low-income countries is attracting more attention around the world than ever before. Yet until now there has been no comprehensive text that incorporates the huge strides made in the subject over the past decade. Development Economics does precisely that in a clear, rigorous, and elegant fashion.

Debraj Ray, one of the most accomplished theorists in development economics today, presents in this book a synthesis of recent and older literature in the field and raises important questions that will help to set the agenda for future research. He covers such vital subjects as theories of economic growth, economic inequality, poverty and undernutrition, population growth, trade policy, and the markets for land, labor, and credit. A common point of view underlies the treatment of these subjects: that much of the development process can be understood by studying factors that impede the efficient and equitable functioning of markets. Diverse topics such as the new growth theory, moral hazard in land contracts, information-based theories of credit markets, and the macroeconomic implications of economic inequality come under this common methodological umbrella.

The book takes the position that there is no single cause for economic progress, but that a combination of factors--among them the improvement of physical and human capital, the reduction of inequality, and institutions that enable the background flow of information essential to market performance--consistently favor development. Ray supports his arguments throughout with examples from around the world. The book assumes a knowledge of only introductory economics and explains sophisticated concepts in simple, direct language, keeping the use of mathematics to a minimum.

Development Economics will be the definitive textbook in this subject for years to come. It will prove useful to researchers by showing intriguing connections among a wide variety of subjects that are rarely discussed together in the same book. And it will be an important resource for policy-makers, who increasingly find themselves dealing with complex issues of growth, inequality, poverty, and social welfare.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60721 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 848 pages

Review
An elegant, insightful, and extremely effective textbook on development economics. It combines astute theoretical reasoning with a firm grip on empirical circumstances, including institutional possibilities and limitations. There is real originality here without sacrificing usefulness and accessibility.
(Amartya Sen, Winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Economics, Harvard University )

From the Inside Flap

"An elegant, insightful, and extremely effective textbook on development economics. It combines astute theoretical reasoning with a firm grip on empirical circumstances, including institutional possibilities and limitations. There is real originality here without sacrificing usefulness and accessibility."--Amartya Sen, Winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize for Economics, Harvard University

---

Customer Reviews

Quite simply THE best textbook on Development Economics!
This is what we've been waiting for: a textbook on Development Economics that is aimed squarely at economists. Most other textbooks on the subject are aimed at students with a general interest in development. While this makes them more accessible, they suffer from not seeing how useful a tool mainstream economic theory is when it comes to examining development issues. Importantly, Ray uses the analytical tools of economics without being too mathematical. This is the textbook I'm going to have my students buy.

Great book
I used this book as the main source of information for one of my last year uni modules. Although a bit large-ish, it offers an organised and easily understandable way for the topics discussed.

If you believe that you would often need to refer to this book,then it would definitely be worth buying regardless of the price.