After almost twenty-five years of experimenting with the neo-liberal economic reforms collectively known as 'Washington Consensus' policies, Latin Americans are starting to re-assess the merits of these policies - at the voting booth. Many newly elected governments are beginning to scrutinize the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in particular, and some nations have gone so far as to nationalize foreign firms. Without endorsing or condoning the actions taken by these governments, this volume demonstrates that it is quite rational for governments in the region to re-evaluate the role...

The pace of growth in the Philippines is slower than that of many neighbouring countries, and despite increasing growth in the period before the current global financial crisis, domestic investment remained weak, and had a declining share in gross domestic product. Understanding limits to growth in the Philippines' economy and how they may be counteracted is crucial for policy makers seeking to encourage economic development.

'Diagnosing the Philippine Economy' investigates the binding constraints on economic development, by following a growth diagnostics approach. Articles within...

Regional integration is gathering momentum in Asia. This study examines the diverse experience of regional integration of South and East Asian economies during the last two decades and offers lessons for latecomers. The global economic crisis is expected to merely dampen rather than halt the pace of Asian integration. Global recovery will give renewed impetus to Asian integration. East and South Asia include the world's largest and most dynamic open economies alongside several least developed countries. Using a set of country cases based on a similar framework, the study addresses an...

'India and the Global Financial Crisis' offers a collection of essays based on the speeches delivered by Reddy during his tenure as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between September 2003 and September 2008, a period of rapid growth for the Indian economy as well as extraordinary challenges for the conduct of monetary policy. He has earned universal acclaim for his gubernatorial management of India's calibrated financial integration with the global economy.

These essays provide informed critical insights into the making of public policies across a spectrum of areas during those...

'The Hidden Form of Capital' presents evidence from several parts of the changing world about how the realm of the spirit affects the economy. The idea that societies have economic cultures as well as aesthetic, literary, and artistic cultures is well-embedded in a number of major studies attempting to identify the origins of national wealth and progress. This book provides an original contribution to the debate, by discussing the relationship between religion and the economy not via further theoretical speculation, but through the presentation of analytical evidence from real-life case...

'The WTO and its Development Obligation: Prospects for Global Trade' presents a sound argument in favour of the WTO adhering to its long-standing development obligation. Ezeani goes further than merely highlighting the problems of developing country integration, and provides a comprehensive analysis of the underlying factors that are preventing developing countries from making meaningful gains through participation in global trade. She assesses the effectiveness of current 'development-based' programmes of the WTO as well as the DSB, and stresses the importance for developing countries of...

'National Systems of Innovation' presents a new perspective on the dynamics of the national and the global economy. Its starting point is that the international competitiveness of nations is founded on innovation. Which role do different parts of the national system play in determining the long-term dynamics of the economy? What is happening to the coherence of national systems of innovation in an era characterised by far-reaching internationalisation and globalisation?

These and other issues are addressed in this volume. Available for the first time in paperback, the book is an...

'India and the Global Financial Crisis' offers a collection of essays based on the speeches delivered by Reddy during his tenure as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between September 2003 and September 2008, a period of rapid growth for the Indian economy as well as extraordinary challenges for the conduct of monetary policy. He has earned universal acclaim for his gubernatorial management of India's calibrated financial integration with the global economy.

These essays provide informed critical insights into the making of public policies across a spectrum of areas during those...

This book contains selected papers from the Annual Conference on Development and Change (ACDC) held at Sao Paulo in November 2006. Second in a series of three conferences, the 2006 ACDC showcased research by relatively younger scholars. While precise and rigorous alternatives to the neoliberal agenda are often overlooked in the huge volume of literature that addresses the larger issues, both aspects - the larger picture and the smaller nuts-and-bolts details - are very important, and this volume fills the gaps in the latter category. These papers were written before the global recession,...