Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose

by Stefan Dercon Narrated by Michael Langan

Overview

In the last thirty years, the developing world has undergone tremendous changes. Overall, poverty has fallen, people live longer and healthier lives, and economies have been transformed. And yet many countries have simply missed the boat. Why have some countries prospered, while others have failed? Stefan Dercon argues that the answer lies not in a specific set of policies, but rather in a key "development bargain," whereby a country's elites shift from protecting their own positions to gambling on a growth-based future. Despite the imperfections of such bargains, China is among the most striking recent success stories, along with Indonesia, and more unlikely places, such as Bangladesh, Ghana, and Ethiopia. Gambling on Development is about these winning efforts, in contrast to countries stuck in elite bargains leading nowhere. Building on three decades' experience across forty-odd countries, Dercon winds his narrative through Ebola in Sierra Leone, scandals in Malawi, beer factories in the DRC, mobile phone licenses in Mozambique, and relief programs behind enemy lines in South Sudan. Weaving together conversations with prime ministers, civil servants, and ordinary people, this is a probing look at how development has been achieved across the world, and how to assist such successes.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A challenging, informed and insightful book. Dercon brings expertise, humility and humanity to the vital question of what makes countries poor and what can help them prosper."—David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, and a former UK Foreign Secretary

"This book, written by one of the greatest living development economists, is full of hard-won insights and provocative observations. Dercon's radical modesty, fierce intelligence and deep commitment to describing what actually occurs in the field—in all its hypocrisy, comedy, tragedy, mystery and idealism—distinguishes him in a field too often defined by naive optimism and snake oil solutions."—Rory Stewart, former UK Secretary of State for International Development

"The most important book on international development in a decade. An intensely political story of economic development—one that could only be written by someone with Dercon's unusual mix of scholarship and statesmanship.'"—Christopher Blattman, author of Why We Fight

"Dercon's message is sobering: there is no silver bullet for development. But any success must rest on the foundation of a bargain among elites, who commit to development and are willing to learn. This should and will be a classic in international development." — Yuen Yuen Ang, author of How China Escaped the Poverty Trap and China's Gilded Age

"Why is there persistent divergence in development outcomes around the world? The focus has been on policies, but this insightful book proposes we focus instead on implicit contracts or bargains among political and entrepreneurial elites. Superbly incisive, engaging and timely." — Leonard Wantchekon, James Madison Professor of Political Economy and Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University

"An ambitious and uncompromising analysis of the challenge of economic development across the world, from China and India, to Kenya and Ghana. It dissects failures and successes, drawing on diverse methodologies and Dercon's own experience of living and working in all corners of the world. Peppered with data and direct observation, the book is fascinating to read."—Kaushik Basu, Professor of Economics and Carl Marks Professor of International Studies, Cornell University, former Chief Economist of the World Bank

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159384409
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	12/26/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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