Policy economics: a textbook of applied economics on developing countries c.2
- London Heinemann 1983
- 312 p.
This is the first textbook of applied economics related to the problems of the Third World which goes beyond an elementary level. It is primarily designed for second and third year undergraduates in developing countries, but it will also prove invaluable for students of development economics in industrial countries, for postgraduate students, and for practising economists.. Three introductory chapters deal with the principles of economic policy. The remainder of the book is devoted to in-depth treatment of a carefully selected range of policy issues: rapid population growth; poverty, inequality and unemployment; inflation; balance of payments management: technological backwardness in agriculture; industrial monopoly; and inefficiency in public enterprises. Throughout, the author considers the problems within a social and political context and rejects a narrowly economic approach. He works on the basis that 'development will not necessarily be the dominant objective of economic policies. These features enable him to write with far more realism about economic policy than is customary in economics textbooks. This work can be used as a basic text in courses of development economics, applied economics, planning and related subjects. It also offers a valuable source of supplementary materials for a variety of more specialist courses: economic theory: demography: labour economics; agricultural and industrial economics; international trade and payments.