Rich Countries And Poor Countries Reflections On The Past, Lessons For The Future

In these ten graceful and learned essays, Professor Rostow addresses the future of the world and its economy from the perspective of his more than forty years of study and reflection on the problems of economic development. Rostow focuses on how we are to create and sustain a civilized and industrious world society in an international trading system beset by historic trends with enormous potential for disruption. These powerful forces—including an industrial revolution of microelectronics, genetic engineering, robots and lasers, and the diffusion of high technology to low-wage areas—are creating different sets of irrevocably intertwined problems for nations around the world. The issues are illuminated here by Rostow’s mastery of economic history as well as the history of political economy. In addition to general discussions placing the issues historically and intellectually, there are essays highlighting the particular concerns of Mexico, India, Japan, and the Pacific Basin. In his final remarks, Rostow speculates on how the large economic trends affecting the superpowers may lead gradually to a truly significant lessening of East-West tensions. This book will be valuable for any citizen or student concerned about the future of the global economy.

Preface -- Reflections on the Past and Future of Political Economy -- The World Economy Since 1945: A Stylized Historical Analysis -- The Rich Country—Poor Country Problem: From the Eighteenth to the Twenty-first Century -- Long Cycles and Policy -- A Perspective on the Global Economic Agenda -- Toward a New Hemispheric Partnership -- India and the Fourth Industrial Revolution -- The Pacific Basin and the World Economy -- Is There Need for Economic Leadership? Japanese or U.S.? -- How the Cold War Might End

W. W. Rostow is professor of political economy at the University of Texas, Austin. He has taught at, among other universities, Oxford, Cambridge, and MIT, and is the author of twenty-six volumes, among them The Process of Economic Growth, The Stages of Economic Growth, and The World Economy: History and Prospect.