Abstract
Looking at the numerous contributions of Sir Hans Singer to development economics, two main strands of research can be discerned:
-
1.
his seminal work on the empirical effects of trade on the South, named the Prebisch-Singer thesis after the two economists who rocked the boat of professional complacency exposing a disturbing contradiction between theoretical expectations and practical outcome. After explaining the mechanisms leading to an unequal international distribution of gains between countries (Singer 1950), Sir Hans has played a leading role in the debate on whether a falling trend in Southern net barter terms of trade can be proven by statistical methods, which has engaged economists and statisticians from the 1940s to this very day.
-
2.
his contributions to the issue of food aid.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Holm, M. (1994) ‘Food Supply and Economic Sustainability in Urban Areas — A Lesson from Tanzania’, in M.A. Mohamed Salih (ed.), Inducing Food Insecurity, Perspectives on Food Policies in Eastern and Southern Africa (Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet) pp. 104–119.
IBRD (1987) World Development Report 1987 (New York: Oxford University Press).
IMF (1987) IMF Survey, 13 July 1987.
OECD (1995) Development Co-operation, Efforts and Policies of the Members of the Development Assistance Committee, 1994 Report (Paris: OECD).
—— (1996) Development Co-operation, Efforts and Policies of the Members of the Development Assistance Committee, 1995 Report (Paris: OECD).
Prebisch, R. (1949) ‘El desarrollo económico de la América latina y algunos de sus principales problemas’, El Trimestre Económico, vol. 16, no. 3 (Jul.–Sep.) pp. 447ff. (English version published by UN-ECLA in 1950).
—— (1959) ‘Commercial Policies in the Underdeveloped Countries’ American Economic Review, Papers & Proceedings, vol. 49, pp. 251ff.
—— (1976) ‘A Critique of Peripheral Capitalism’, CEPAL Review, first half of 1976, pp. 9–77.
Raffer, K. (1995), ‘The Impact of the Uruguay Round on Developing Countries’, in F. Breuss (ed.) The World Economy after the Uruguay Round (Schriftenreihe des Forschungsinstituts für Europafragen, Bd. 12) (Vienna: Service Fachverlag) pp. 169–93; (reprinted in Asian Journal of Economics and Social Studies vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 187–204).
—— (forthcoming), Debt Management: Problems in Need of More Attention’, in D. Gupta and N. Choudhry (eds) Political Economy of Globalization (Studies in Globalization and Development, vol. 3) (Boston: Kluwer, forthcoming).
—— and H.W. Singer (1996) The Foreign Aid Business, Economic Assistance and Development Co-operation (Cheltenham: E. Elgar).
Sen, A. (1983) ‘Development: Which Way Now?’, Economic Journal, vol. 93, no. 372, pp. 745–62.
Shaw, J. and E. Clay (1993) World Food Aid, Experiences of Donors and Recipients (Rome/London/Portsmouth: World Food Programme/Heinemann/ James Curry).
Singer, H.W. (1950) ‘The Distribution of Gains between Investing and Borrowing Countries’, American Economic Review, Papers & Proceedings, pp. 473–85.
—— (1984) ‘The Terms of Trade Controversy and the Evolution of Soft Financing: Early Years in the U.N.’, in G.M. Meier and D. Seers (eds) Pioneers in Development: (Oxford University Press (published for the World Bank) pp. 275–303.
—— (1986) ‘Raúl Prebisch and His Advocacy of Import Substitution’, Development & South-South Co-operation, vol. 2, no. 3 (special issue: Homage to R. Prebisch) pp. 1–7.
—— (1989) ‘Lessons of Post-War Development Experience 1945–1988’, IDS-Discussion Paper, no. 260 (IDS, Sussex).
(1991a) ‘Terms of Trade — New Wine and New Bottles?’, IDS Sussex, 5 June 1991 (mimeo).
—— (1991b) ‘Food Aid: Development Tool or Development Obstacle?’, in H.W. Singer, N. Hatti and R. Tandon (eds) Aid and External Financing in the 1990s New World Order Series, vol. 9 (New Delhi: Indus) pp. 109–24.
—— (1994a) ‘Problems and Future of Food Aid in the Post-GATT-Era’, in Newsletter, Bruno Kreisky Dialogue Series, n. 10, pp. 42–75 (bilingual: German and English).
—— (1994b) ‘Two Views of Food Aid’, in R. Prendergast and F. Stewart (eds), Market Forces and Development (Basingstoke: Macmillan) pp. 207–11.
—— and D.J. Shaw (1995) ‘A Future Food Aid Regime: Implications of the Final Act of the GATT Uruguay Round’, paper presented at the DSA-Conference, Dublin, 7–9 September 1995, forthcoming in H. O’Neill and J. Toye (eds) A World without Famine? (Basingstoke: Macmillan).
Singer, H., J. Wood and T. Jennings (1987) Food Aid, The Challenge and the Opportunity (Oxford: Clarendon).
Spraos, J. (1983) Inequalising Trade? A Study of Traditional North/South Specialisation in the Context of Terms of Trade Concepts (Oxford: Clarendon in co-operation with UNCTAD).
Streeten, P. (1994), Strategies for Human Development (Copenhagen: Handelshøskolens Forlag).
UNCTAD (1995) Analysis of the Modalities to Give Effect to the Decisions on Special Provisions for the Least Developed Countries as Contained in the Final Act of the Uruguay Round, 21 June 1995 (Geneva: UN (TD/B/WG.83).
UNDP (1994) Human Development Report 1994 (New York: Oxford University Press).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1998 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Raffer, K. (1998). Food Aid, North-South Trade, and the Prebisch-Singer Thesis. In: Sapsford, D., Chen, Jr. (eds) Development Economics and Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26769-9_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-26769-9_12
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-26771-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-26769-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Economics & Finance CollectionEconomics and Finance (R0)