Beyond “state versus market” — a classic guide to development policy that confronts bribes, tribes, and markets that fail.
Author: Robert Klitgaard
Year: 1991 / reissued 2021
Publisher: Routledge
Topics: Economic Development, Policy Analysis, Poverty, Governance, Corruption
About This Book
Originally published in 1991 and reissued by Routledge in 2021, Adjusting to Reality addresses questions of enduring relevance in a lively and insightful way.
Bribes, tribes, and markets that fail — these are the realities in many developing countries. The usual strategies for reform, whether capitalist or socialist, have failed to address them effectively. What is to be done when economic reforms leave the poor behind, or when new constitutions and elections are undercut by inefficient bureaucracies, overcentralization, and corruption?
Drawing on examples from Bolivia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Peru, and the Philippines, Klitgaard provides inspiring frameworks for inclusive policy discussion. The book highlights overlooked causes of underdevelopment — imperfect information and weak information processing in individuals and institutions — and suggests creative ways in which the state and citizens can solve their own inevitably unique problems.
Paperback edition available September 2023.
Praise
“Lively and highly readable. Goes beyond the abstractions of academia and the slogans of the World Bank to present a step-by-step guide to identifying problems and implementing the recommended policies.”
Journal of Economic Literature
“Poverty is — and should be — a principal concern of development strategists, but policy makers will continue to run from pillar to post in their search for a cure unless they can adjust their development schemes to reality.”
Nicolás Ardito Barletta, former President of Panama
“A broad framework for policy analysis that moves us closer to intelligent solutions to the real problems of the real poor in the modern world.”
Richard Zeckhauser, Harvard Kennedy School
Related Work
Related themes: International Development | Governance & Public Management
Related books: Tropical Gangsters | The Culture and Development Manifesto | Controlling Corruption