Economic Systems in the Developing World: Regional Differences

Abstract

The prevalent view among most economists is that of considering the developing world as a comparable set of individual countries that pass through a common development process, though at different speeds. In this universalistic view, individual developing countries are approached analytically as a continuum of country observations in terms of their national income per capita, rates of economic growth, and related variables. The individual developing economies and polities are seen to change along universalistic development phases that would ultimately bring about higher levels of living and welfare. At the same time, academic interest for the developing world, influenced by policy considerations, has focused more on the individual countries as client cases, studied obstacles the countries faced in the development process, examined solutions, and recommended policies following universalistic recipes.