Papers

Policy (Institutional) Diversity and Economic Development

Published:
2020-08-27
Author
View
How To Cite
Selected Style: APA
Daianu, D. (2020). Policy (Institutional) Diversity and Economic Development. Competitio, 3(1), 5-31. https://doi.org/10.21845/comp/2004/1/2
Abstract

Diversity, or variety, is the essence of economic life in the sense of underlying choice; economic calculation gives numerical substance to how people make choices in their daily endeavours, either as consumers or entrepreneurs. How does variety/diversity takes shape in the realm of institutions and policy making? Is the range of choices open-ended? The last couple of decades has revealed an overwhelming offensive of the neo-liberal paradigm in
terms of defining “best practices”. Even language was shaped accordingly with market reforms being seen in a quasi-single theoretical and policy framework. Are we heading towards increasing uniformity with regard to institutional and policy set ups, worldwide? An affirmative answer would underline the successful market based transformation of a series of command economies. Some convergence between institutional patterns in the USA and the
EU economies might be alluded to in the same vein A supportive argument for this line of reasoning could be that what matters for individual achievement, in the end, are equal opportunities. But this argument can be turned around when debating the merits of various institutional set ups in terms of creating fair chances for people. A sceptical answer would highlight the mounting challenges which confront societies, whether rich and poor, and the international community in general –in spite of the high hopes of not long ago. The demise of the “New Economy”, the series of corporate scandals in wealthy economies and the subsequent recourse to new regulatory legislation, recurrent financial and currency crises throughout the world, and the controversies surrounding the activity of IFIs, should compel “ideologues”, of all sorts, to be more humble in their prescriptions. This essay argues that there is substantial scope for institutional and policy diversity to operate as a means to foster economic development; that there might be a paradigmatic cycle in the dynamic of economic policies.

References
  1. Agenor, P. Richard (2000), “The Economic of Adjustment and Growth”, New York Academic Press.
  2. Arrow, Kenneth, John, “The Limits of Organisation”, New York, Norton, 1970
  3. Bebear, Claude, with Phillippe Maniere, “Ils Vont Tuer le Capitalisme” (They are killing capitalsim), Paris, Plon, 2003
  4. Blanchard, Olivier (1997). “The Economics of Post-communism”, London, Clarendon Press, 1997.
  5. Daianu, Daniel, “How possible is catching up in Europe”, Warsaw, TIGER Working Papers, May, 2002
  6. ___________ and Radu Vranceanu, “Opening the Capital Account in Transition Economies: How Much and How Fast?”, Acta Oeconomica, vol.53 , 3, 2003, pp. 245-270.
  7. David, Ben (2000). “Trade, Growth and Disparity Among Nations”, in “Trade and Poverty”, WTA, Geneva.
  8. Desai, Padma, “Financial Crisis, Contagion and Containment”, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2003
  9. Dauderstadt, Michael and Lothar Witte (2001) “Cohesive Growth in the Enlarged Euroland”, Bonn, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2001
  10. Deepak, Lal (1999), “Unintended Consequences. The Impact of Factor Endowments, Culture and Politics on Long Run Economic Performance”, Cambridge, MIT University Press
  11. Eichengreen, Barry, “Capital Flows and Crises”, Cambridge, MIT Press, 2003
  12. Ellis, H. S. (ed.), (1961)“Economic Development for Latin America”. New York, St. Martin Press.
  13. Easterly, William (2001), “The Lost Decades: Developing Countries’ Stagnation in Spite of Policy Reform 1980–1998”, February, (manuscript).
  14. Easterly, William (2001), “The Elusive Quest for Growth”, Cambridge, MIT Press.
  15. Fischer, Stanley, “Globalisation and Its Challenges”, Ameriacn Economic Review, Proceedings, May, 2003, Ppp.1-31
  16. Halpern, Laszlo and Charles Wiplosz (2001), “Economic Transformation and Real Exchange Rates in the 2000s: The Balassa-Samuelson Connection”, chapter 6 (pp. 227–40) in “Economic Survey of Europe 2001”, UN/ECE, Geneva.
  17. Hoff, Karla, Beyond Rosenstein-Rodan: The Modern Theory of Coordination Problems in Development” (2000), in: “Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics. Proceedings”, World Bank, Washington DC, 2000.
  18. Gao, Bai, (2001), “Japan’s Economic Dilemma”, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
  19. Giddens, Anthony, (1998), “The Third Way. The Renewal of Social Democracy”, London, Polity Press
  20. Gilpin, Robert, (2201), “Global Political Economy”, Princeton, Princeton University Press
  21. Greider, William, “The Soul of Capitalism. Opening paths to a Moral Economy”, New York, Simon and Schuster, 2003
  22. Guillen, Mauro. F. (2001). “The Limits of Convergence. Globalization and Organizational Change in Argentina, South Korea and Spain”, Princeton, Princeton University Press.
  23. Kolodko, Grzegorz W. (2002). “Globalization and Catching-up in Transition Economies”, Rochester, NY, and Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK, University of Rochester Press.
  24. Krugman, Paul, (1994) “Geography and Trade”, Cambridge, MIT Press,
  25. Lal, Deepak (1999), “Unintended Consequences. The Impact of Factor Endowments, Culture, and Politics on Long-Run Performance”, Cambridge, MIT Press.
  26. Lucas, Robert (1988), “On The Mechanics of Economic Development”, Journal of Monetary Economics, Vol. 22 (July), p. 3–42.
  27. Maddison, Angus (1995), “Monitoring the World Economy: 1820–1992”, Development Centre Studies, OECD, Paris.
  28. North, Douglas, “Structure and Change in Economic History”, New York, Norton, 1981
  29. Ohmae, Kenichi, (1995), “The End of the Nation State. The Rise of the Regional Economies”, New York, The Free Press
  30. Olson, Mancur Jr., “The Rise and Decline of Nations. Economic Griowth, Stagflation and Social Rigidities”, New Havem, Yale University Press, 1982.
  31. Pettis, Michael, “The Volatitlity Machine. Emerging Economies and The Threat of Financial Collapse”, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001
  32. Rodrik, Dani, (1996) “Understanding Economic Policy Refoirm”, Journal of Economic Literature, vol.XXXIV, pp.9-41
  33. Rodrik, Dani, (2000) “The New Global Economy and Develioping Countries. Making Openness Work”, Washington DC, Overseas Development Council
  34. Rodrik, Dani (2000), “Development Strategies for the Next Century”, February, Harvard University (manuscript).
  35. Romer, Paul, (1986), “Increasing Returns and Long Term Growth”, Journal of Political Economy, vol.94, pp.1002-1037
  36. Rosati, Dariusz (2001), “The Balassa-Samuelson Effect among the CEEC”, paper presented at the Balassa Commemoration Conference, Budapest, 18–19 October.
  37. Rosen, Sherwin, (2002) “Markets and Diversity”, American Economic Review, March, vol.92, no.1, pp.1-16
  38. Rosenstein-Rodan, Paul (1943), “Problems of Industrialization of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe”, Economic Journal, 1943, Vol. 53 (June-September), pp. 202–11.
  39. Soros, George, “On Globalissation”, New York, Norton, 2002
  40. Stiglitz, Joseph, (1994) “Whither Socialism?, Cambridge, MIT Press
  41. Stiglitz, Joseph, (2002)“Globalisation and its Discontents”, New York, Norton
  42. Summers, Larry (2000), “International Financial Crises: Causes, Prevention and Cures”, American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, May.
  43. Williamson, John, (1994), ‘The Political Economy of Policy Reform”, Washington DC, The Institute of International Economics,
  44. The World Bank (2000), “Progress Toward the Unification of Europe”, Washington DC, World Bank.