The Political Economy of Underdevelopment

by Amiya Kumar Bagchi

• ISBN13: 9780521284042
• ISBN10: 052128404X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1982-03-31
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The division of the world into rich and poor nations, and the division within poor nations between a minority of rich people and a majority of poor people living at a minimum subsistence level, has been obvious to careful observers for a long time. This book gives an overview of the problems of underdevelopment confronting third-world countries, making use of both Marxist and neo-Keynesian methods of analysis. It makes clear the historical origins of these contemporary problems, particularly with reference to the major countries of Asia and Latin America, and discusses the ways in which inequalities, both within and between countries, are propaged and perpetuated. Other problems analysed are the typical patterns of fluctuating growth faced by third-world countries; the social structures in both rural and urban areas and their influence on the behaviour of governments and private investors in these countries; and environmental control and population planning issues faced by these countries. Finally, an introduction is provided to the planning methods adopted by most third-world countries and the hurdles such planning has encountered. The illustrations are drawn widely from among third-world countries.

Table of Contents

Series preface

Preface

1. Political economy and the study of social change in the third world

2. Methods of exploitation and the phenomenon of economic retardation

3. Underdevelopment in Latin America: historical roots

4. Colonialism in Asia: Indonesia, India, China

5. Growth and fluctuations in economically retarded societies

6. Rural classes, land reforms and agrarian change

7. Labour, capital and the state

8. Population for capitalism in the third world

9. Planning for capitalism in the third world

References

Index.