Reclaiming Development: An Alternative Economic Policy Manual

by Ha-Joon Chang, Ilene Grabel

There is no alternative to neoliberal economics or so it appeared when Ha-Joon Chang and Ilene Grabels Reclaiming Development was published in 2004. While much has changed since, many of the same driving assumptions monetarism and globalization remain in international development. Chang and Grabel confront this model head-on, combining devastating economic critique with an in-depth analysis of the experiences of leading economies, making this path-breaking book even more relevant today.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Politics, Economic Development, Academic, Political Science

258 pages, ebook

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Ha-Joon Chang is a South Korean institutional economist, specializing in development economics. Currently he is a reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge.

Reviews

[Yasemin Ugur · Rating 5 out of 5]

ODTÜ’den saygıdeğer bir hocamın tezime katkısının olacağını düşünerek tavsiye ettiği bu kitap, Özellikle soğuk savaş sonrası küresel iktisadi krizlerin yaygınlaşması ile washington konsensusun revize edilmesine duyulan ihtiyacın açıkça ortaya çıktığı 2000 li yılların ilk çeyreğinde yazılmıştır. Tam da bu dönemlerde (ABD’nin tek taraflı ekonomik hamlelerinin de giderek arttığı konjonktürde) krizden en çok etkilenmiş olan gelişmekte olan ülkeler tarafından üretilen (neo-liberal iktisat politikalarına karşı) alternatif bir politika öneri demeti sunmaktadır. Kitap akışında, önce iktisadi politikaları(mali, parasal, finansal, dış ticaret...vb. alanlara ayırıp) neo-liberal perspektiften değerlendirmiş, sonrasında da karşısına daha etkin olduğunu verilerle ispatladığı kalkınmacı ve üçüncü dünyacı alternatiflerini koymuştur. Kapitalizme alternatif kalkınma politikalarının etkinliğini dayanakları ile bulabileceğiniz önemli bir baş ucu kitabı!
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[Paul Kuntze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, but I don't think it is quite at the level of "23 thing they don't tell you about capitalism" by Ha-Joon Chang. It makes some concessions in the point of academic rigor to be more readable for laymen, but the arguments seem to have a little less power to convince than those in "23 things". Apart from that, the myth busting part greatly resembles that of "23 things", so it did not give me much new information.
It is the policy recommendation where this book truly shines, giving a more practical outlook on how the alternative development strategies that the authors recommend can be applied in the real world under the constraints of the present international trade regimes. I also rally like the 'recommended readings' list, which is a list of papers that support and further explore each of the policy alternatives presented in the book, which makes it much more academically usable than "23 things".

[Julien Comardelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dense but so informative. Ha-Joon Chang collects an extensive heterodox(Other Canon and others) economic literature on the core problems of economic development. Chang collects a wide neoliberal literature, which provides a valuable balance to readers and allows Chang's arguments to be better understood and tempered.

Overall, read it.

[Alex Kondrashin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read, page-turner.

[Elias Fuentes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verry Good

[Marcel Schwarz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good suggestions on how countries should approach capitalism today to be successful. Just a bit dry both in structure and content.