Globalization and Competition
Why Some Emergent Countries Succeed while Others Fall Behind

Globalization and Competition explains why some middle-income countries, principally those in Asia, grow fast while others are not successful.

Luiz Carlos Bresser Pereira (Author)

9780521196352, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 December 2009

262 pages, 1 b/w illus. 7 tables
23.6 x 15.8 x 1.9 cm, 0.48 kg

'The Swahili proverb says, 'Until the lions have their own historians, the history of hunting will be written from the perspective of the hunter.' In this book, the distinguished Brazilian lion-economist Bresser-Pereira distills decades of his own research and writing into a simple and elegant explanation of middle-income countries' growth and a set of policy guidelines for falling-behind countries to become catch-up countries. It has the unmistakable thwack of originality.' Robert H. Wade, London School of Economics, Winner of the Leontief Prize in Economics, 2008

Globalization and Competition explains why some middle-income countries, principally those in Asia, grow fast while others are not successful. The author criticizes both old-style developmentalism and the economics of the Washington Consensus. He argues instead for a 'new developmentalism' or third approach that builds on a national development strategy. This approach differs from the neoliberal strategy that rich nations propose to emerging economies principally on macroeconomic grounds. Developing countries face a key obstacle to growth, namely, the tendency to overvaluate foreign exchange. Instead of neutralizing it, the policy that rich countries promote mistakenly seeks growth through foreign savings, which causes additional appreciation of the national currency and often results in financial crises rather than genuine investment.

Introduction
Part I. Political Economy: 1. Globalization and catching up
2. The key institution
3. New developmentalism
Part II. Development Macroeconomics: 4. The tendency of the exchange rate to overvaluation
5. The Dutch disease
6. Foreign savings and slow growth
7. Foreign savings and financial crises
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Political economy [KCP], Economic growth [KCG], Economics, finance, business & management [K], Sociology [JHB]