The Post-Development Reader

Book Description

Most scholars and practitioners are now agreed that the world is on the threshold of a completely new era in the history of development. This Reader brings together in a powerfully diverse, but ultimately coherent, statement some of the very best thinking on the subject by scholars and activists from both North and South. They provide a devastating critique of what the mainstream paradigm has in practice done to the peoples of the world and to their richly diverse and sustainable ways of living. They also present some of the essential ideas out of which the victims of development are now constructing new, humane, culturally and ecologically respectful modes of development.

Customer Reviews:

Best of Post-development Perspectives .......2005-09-24

This is an excellent collection of papers by the best known scholars in the tradition of Post-development perspective. It examines critically most of the key conceptual categories of mainstream developmentalism. Various papers also demonstrate how the radical elements of 'alternative development' are coopted by mainstream developmentalism and therefore end up rejecting altogether the idea of development. A clear statement of the perspective of Post-development also helps its critics who, while critical of many aspects of mainstream developmentalism, refuse to 'throw the baby out with the bathwater'. Thus The Post-Development Reader is an extremely useful contribution to the literature on development at a time when there is tremendous confusion in development discourses which use the same terms to state very different ideas.

Diverse, multi-faceted.......2003-10-06

Like its subject, this book is incredibly diverse and many-sided. With so many illustrious contributors, it's hard not to be enlightened.

Mandatory Reading.......2003-01-02

As an "international development studies" major, I have leared a lot about the issue at my university but have consistently felt that something was missing or maybe wrong. After field experience in rural Bolivia and increasing doubts about the development paradigm, my advisor pointed me to this book (along with Wolfgang Sachs's "Development Dictionary"). At that moment reading these two books, which share much in common, felt like an intellectual revelation. The insights of great authors such as Escobar, Rahnema, Illich, and Shiva felt like a fresh breeze compared to my past studies. The deep insights of the writers have spurred only more questions which have occupied my time and imagination since. Given the stale manner in which development is taught and discussed in the academia and the media, I feel that this book is mandatory for any development student or practitioner regarless of experience or age. It is bound to make you think.

Must have.......2002-12-02

This book is a must have for anyone critical of the development discourse. Heavy texts from around forty different progressive scholars are accompanied by boxes with excerpts from even more, such radical thinkers and activists. Refreshing and almost invaluable!

Real World Economics: A Post-Autistic Economics Reader (Anthem Studies in Development and Globalization)

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Economics Rediscovers Reality
With Enemies Like This, Neoclassical Economics Needs No Friends

Real World Economics: A Post-Autistic Economics Reader (Anthem Studies in Development and Globalization)

Manufacturer: Anthem Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Adam's Fallacy: A Guide to Economic Theology

ASIN: 1843312476

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Economics Rediscovers Reality.......2007-08-02

This book is must reading for anyone who wants to break out of the mathematical dream world of most contemporary economics. Unbeknownst to most economists and their followers in Washington, there has been an intellectual revolt brewing for several years. The pieces in this book cover a wide range of subjects, from philosophical questions to practical policy, and are written to be accessible to the educated non-economist. Because they run the gamut from left to right to center, no reader will agree with them all, but they eloquently demonstrate the breadth and intellectual sophistication of the post-autistic movement.

Some may complain that this single book doesn't overthrow the entire discipline of economics and erect a complete alternative theory. But that kind of work will take decades, and one has to begin somewhere.

No education in economics is complete without this book.

With Enemies Like This, Neoclassical Economics Needs No Friends.......2007-05-19

This collection of writings of the post-autistic critics of neoclassical economics has 59 chapters and six appendices, all in just under 500 pages. The contributions are thus short opinion pieces rather than detailed critiques of economic theory or the graduate economics curriculum. I confess that while I am an often harsh critic of neoclassical theory, I do not find much of value in these pages. My comments are directed at members of this movement and the authors in this book, whom I urge to do a more forward-looking and analytically serious job. The single best paper in the book is by Jamie Galbraith, who urges us to stop the interminable belly-aching and get on with the task of developing an alternative to neoclassical economics, giving several insightful suggestions as to how this should be accomplished.

Neoclassical economics is a microeconomic theory not concerned with standard macroeconomic problems, such as the business cycle, monetary and fiscal policy. Many of the critiques in this book deal with macroeconomic models that bear little relationship to neoclassical theory, and I will not deal with them. Moreover, the suggestions for alternatives to neoclassical economics are mostly thinkers operating in the macroeconomic tradition. Reading Keynes and/or the post-Keynesians rather than Mas-Collel et al. simply doesn't make sense, since these authors were concerned with the single issue of under-employement equilibrium and macroeconomic stabilization theory. Reading Marx rather than game theory is also misdirected advice, since Marx deals with the division of wealth between capital and labor, an issue that is peripheral to neoclassical theory. Similarly, Veblen is great for conspicuous consumption, but there are plenty of neoclassical model that capture his insights and much more.

I find it curious that young economists would suggest that old-fashioned macroeconomic theories should replace modern neoclassical theories, given that we live in an age where macroeconomic policy is a purely technocratic enterprise, and all the really burning social issues have to do with such microeconomic issues as corruption, incentive compatibility, overcoming anti-competitive bureaucracies and entitlements in the economy, skills and qualifications, gender inequality, and the role of altruism and other-regarding preferences in explaining economic behavior. The idea of our poring over the texts of Marx, Keynes, and Veblen to answer contemporary economic problems is ludicrous indeed.

Another persistent theme in these pages is that the core micro courses in graduate schools should use less math, since all the high-tech math of microeconomic theory is worthless. Why is it worthless? Because, say the post-autistics, the super high-tech economics journals produce a lot of fancy models with no real-world relevance. The fact is that most economists are not economic theorists, and could not understand an Econometrica article if they wanted to (which they do not). However, the level of mathematics used in the everyday life is orders of magnitude higher than that of other behavioral disciplines, and one cannot write a cogent analysis of an economic issue without being able to write and analyze simple mathematical models. Economists learn how to do this in the first three years of graduate school, where almost all course are applied micro of one kind or another. This is as it should be. I think the American Economic Review and the Journal of Economic Perspective are examples of journals that thrive on high-level microeconomic model building and testing of a sort that every economists should be capable of generating and understanding. If there is some systematic alternative to microeconomic theory, I would love to see it, but I doubt that it would be less math-intensive that the standard fare of the AER.

I am frankly saddened by the vapidity of the post-autistic economics movement. Who cares how hard the courses are? So what if you have to work a little? Why do you have to read Keynes in class. Are you incapable of reading him at home?

What is the goal of this movement? It seems that the answer is: it has no goal. It is just a bunch of people fussing because the courses are too hard, and hoping for an alternative that would make the life of the economist more like that of the armchair philsopher, or the social critic who wants to get paid well for issuing arcane philosophical critiques of capitalism from the halls of academe, offering nothing in its place.

Serious critics back up their criticism with an attempt to develop serious alternatives. Moreover, it is not just the post-autistic community that is disenchanted with received wisdom in microeconomics. The smartest young economics in each of the past four or five generations have revolutionized economic theory by developing alternative that have been incorporated in the contemporary economist's toolbox. It is the kiss of death to listen to the nay-sayers, prominent in this book, who claim that all the Nobel prize winners in economics are worthless, that all new theory is just old wine in new bottles, and that the current body of economic theory is completely without merit. It is also the kiss of death to listen to some critique who claims we should immerse ourselves in the writings of dead old f-rts for inspiration.

European Cities and Technology Reader: Industrial to Post-Industrial Cities (Cities and Technology)

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European Cities and Technology Reader: Industrial to Post-Industrial Cities (Cities and Technology)
David Goodman
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415200822

Book Description

The European Cities and Technology Reader is designed to be used on its own or as a companion volume to the accompanying European Cites and Technology textbook in the same series. The European Cities and Technology Reader is divided into three main sections presenting key readings on: Cities of the Industrial Revolution (to 1870), European Cities since 1870 and the Urban Technology Transfer. The book has been compiled as a reference source for students, and offers the reader a deeper understanding of the historical role of technological change in urban development.

Feminism and Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader

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Feminism and Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader

Manufacturer: Edinburgh University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0748613501

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The post-development reader

Manufacturer: David Philip
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Reader's Choice: Connections Pre and Post Tests

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Reader's Choice: Connections Pre and Post Tests
Contemporary Books
Manufacturer: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reader's Choice: Discoveries Pre and Post Tests

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Reader's Choice: Discoveries Pre and Post Tests
Contemporary Books
Manufacturer: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company
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Binding: Paperback

Reader's Choice: Insights Pre and Post Tests

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Reader's Choice: Insights Pre and Post Tests
Contemporary Books
Manufacturer: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

Organisations, of all kinds, are facing the challenge of rapidly advancing technologies, and ever-increasing levels of competition, both nationally and globally. They are also seeking to operate in an environment where the traditional relationships between employer and employee are rapidly changing.

Learning to harness the talents of everyone comprising an organisation is critical to sustainable organisational effectiveness. Successfully developing the talents of all members of an organization is, arguably, the only lasting source of competitive advantage.

This handbook provides a unique and authoritative review of relevant research, theoretical developments, and current best practice in the management of individual development.

Drawing on the expertise of both renowned academic specialists and leading practitioners, the book is designed to be a practical resource for the guidance and support of those whose role is to bring about the development of people at work.

Authoritative reviews of relevant evaluation research, and best-practice descriptions of key assessment and development tools
Editor with excellent psychological and consultancy knowledge, experience and contacts
Written by International contributors within a strong conceptual structure
Part of a new series - Wiley Handbooks in the Psychology of Management in Organizations

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"How can we maintain competitive advantage in a rapidly changing environment and at the same time create and sustain organisations in which people thrive both materially and psychologically? While organisations are facing the twin challenges of advancing technologies and increasing levels of competition, successfully developing and retaining the talents of all its members is key to organisational effectiveness. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND DEVELOPMENT IN ORGANISATIONS is a wide-ranging review of research, theoretical developments and current best practice for HR consultants, managers, academics and advanced students in psychology. Michael Pearn has assembled a comprehensive collection of renowned academic specialists and leading practitioners to provide academic research findings and practice-relevant information on a variety of subjects. These include: whether competencies exist; the meaning of Emotional Intelligence; whether personality influences performance; what turns an assessment centre into a development centre; whether development resources should be concentrated on the most gifted; methods of developing diversity; and using networks to enhance learning. This authoritative handbook will prove an invaluable tool for those charged with the development of people in organizations in today's climate of constant change.

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Triumph over tragedy in a farm family's life........1999-06-18

Mrs. Leimbach's third and final book in a series of essays on farm life. This book is warm, and witty, as are all Mrs. Leimbach's books. She deals with the death of one of her sons in an open and sensitive manner. If you like Erma Bombeck in a country mode, this book will touch your heart.

Bittersweet harvest: The debate over Genetically Modified crops. (World in Review).(Monsanto Co.): An article from: Harvard International Review

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Bittersweet harvest: The debate over Genetically Modified crops. (World in Review).(Monsanto Co.): An article from: Harvard International Review
Honor Hsin
Manufacturer: Harvard International Relations Council, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Harvard International Review, published by Harvard International Relations Council, Inc. on March 22, 2002. The length of the article is 2463 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Bittersweet harvest: The debate over Genetically Modified crops. (World in Review).(Monsanto Co.)
Author: Honor Hsin
Publication: Harvard International Review (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2002
Publisher: Harvard International Relations Council, Inc.
Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Page: 38(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Bittersweet Harvest
Leslie Davis Guccione
Manufacturer: silhouette
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OX0FGM

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Harvest of Bittersweet
Patricia Penton Leimbach
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEXPM2

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Harvest of Bittersweet
Patricia Penton with (Jack Homesley, Illustrator) Leimback
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0VIXY

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