I love when a couple bloggers I read start discussing a book that is somewhere on my queue of to-read, but the queue is realistically growing faster than books are moving forward on it.
It sure feels like most success stories use the variables in some idiosyncratic combination - export discipline, land reform, financialisation - with the idea that implementing those variables also brings with it state legibility and accountability (not a guarantee). Which means it kind of comes down to the state, in some deep meaningful sense, deciding that it wants progress and aligning the various parts to act in concert. If there are factions fighting against it insidiously (as opposed to outright opposition, which is fine) through delays or corruption, this wouldn't work. The ur-capability seems to be to engender some level of professionalism within the state capacity to get things done.
Noah -- on Scott's post there's a lot of comments about Land Reform, and people are pointing out that "Land Reform" is a really vague category that can include everything from "Land to the Tiller" to "Murder all the landlords and give away the land to politically connected cronies." Kind of like how "Church reform" can mean anything from "Tweak the Catholic Church a bit on the edges" to "Enforce state Atheism" to "Let's all become Amish," etc.
What's your personal take on what the most effective kind of "Land Reform" that actually works is?
Isn't there a general problem with the "Development is about getting policy right" approach without addressing why "correct policies" seems to be so highly geographically correlated? Western Europe, East Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, etc. tend to have relatively similar development trajectories (with the occasional outlier), so while these might be driven by similar policy prescriptions, it raises the question of why certain policies are pursued in certain areas rather than others.
Somewhat relatedly, it seems an often neglected variable is the intention of the leaders. Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein and the Kim dynasty didn't just fail at implementing the correct policies, they had no desire to improve the lot of their citizens, whereas (arguably) Deng Xiaoping, Lee Kuan Yew and others did. This again raises the question of why "Development autocrats" tended to emerge more in some regions than others. But this approach, linking politics and geography, seems to be an important part of the story, no?
I'm big fan of How Asia Works and Noah's tireless campaign to draw attention to it. I think it even has lessons for democratic advanced countries (we could use a little land reform and some financial dirigisme).
One thing people from an English speaking background might not be aware of is how advanced the East Asian economies were pre-industrialisation (not to be patronising, this was me until the age of 25). Even though they were super poor on a per-capita basis, the urban consumer economy was very advanced, on a par with the richest cities of Europe. At least, that was my impression of reading some old Japanese and Chinese novels and memoirs. So when the industrial revolution finally started, it was playing into an environment that already had a long history of paper money, literacy, futures markets, consumer fashions, entertainment industry and so on. It may have been a small percentage, but a small percentage of a huge population. For places like Central America or sub-Saharan Africa that had a different history and pattern of population density, the jury is out whether they can get to 10% GDP growth. But I think it's worth a try, and Ethiopia seems to be making a go of it without a lot of natural advantages.
The chart doesn't seem to show that much SE catch-up, given that they're poorer, outside of Vietnam. And Vietnam is called out as one of the ones implementing the studwell formula.
I feel like we've raised the ante for development over time. Things like a developed energy sector, communications, even specialized skills like cyber security are increasingly required to keep everything running and produce consistent output.
I don't know if that comes up in any models, but seems relevant, and might explain why some countries that seem ready have to wait in line, they are working on all the invisible prerequisites to reliability.
Interesting article. Hopes Bangladesh is on the queue next after these other countries are done. The zero-sum-game might because these countries rely on exports to develop and they might be competing with each other in the market. But I don't know enough about the supply chains in Asia to make that judgement.
BTW I liked your article on Bangladesh. If you don't mind reading subtitles, you should this video (https://youtu.be/rdC4BsMYUEQ). This cunt used to work for the World Bank and he covered some extra stuff that you missed. Let me know what you think.
This was LOUD and I enjoyed it very much .. Reminded me of some other writings I once knew and had forgotten. Beautiful really a book published early 1920s by Herbert Quick . it's one of the shares test of time and it grand and someday I shall think it be even held as a bigger prize of treasure my copy happened to be signed and inscribed by the author. Also have you ever read ARGUING WITH IDIOTS? BY GLEN BECK? ITS delightful and a real ball buster. Deff recommend that for a future read it's many years past now old. Thank you for sharing again great stuff. Some time ago I suffered from maybe head trauma of some sort never told or confirmed to my knowledge and the past 3 years suffer from black mold spores mildew hiding in my walls and floors from hurricane water damage never inspected over many different storms , this has since suffered me greatly and my memories have been erased , I have nothing of past and it's prevented me from courage in stepping to a positive future. The mold has almost shut me down if it weren't for bible and books and faith alone I wouldn't even made up this far ... Taken some much abuse from a man suffering fro. Worse exposure then myself from chemical liquid gas plant conversion and both have been in a mold infestation trapped unhappy and unhealthy no one told us and it is still happening today. I can't remember much and no one allowed me the truth and I continue to overcome and represent myself with strange amounts of priceless knowledge and so much treasures has found its way back to me by universal law. Still I cry and am yet forced to start over again each day and frustrated to the controlling man who holds me here in the wet wood . I don't have much family or friends bc I don't get to leave my house often and I'm a strong willed tradition women. I have lost confidence from abusive relationship I live in and someday I pray to be set free and to understand all the questions I need to ask and to so all the answers the world needs to hear and know. It's far to much ya know for one person to hold inside its a shame I wasn't told more. I know who I am really though, no one told me that much , it rescued me from a hell I had made good living In and would of continued that way. However myself found myself and fell in love and then found my other self and my love Soul mate twin spirit that I am still missing ..... I knew who I was bc I would scream myself crying dying alone and poor broke down held down and controlled like a doll, the pain is never left and I know it lives and YET I can't find it in my entire body and mind to stay hating it longer then a couple hours and that is the strength of my life and it scares me bc I need some one to draw the line in the sand for me bc I have forgotten the will it takes to do so. Thank you again. Best of wishes to you and yours. Xo!!!! Regretfully no memories left.
I don't want to get any discussion on state development, but giving the state officials the role of "Cut off support to companies that try to export and fail" seems very obviously myopic.
Re PPP, if you haven't dug into the data and examined why Taiwan gets a much bigger PPP adjustment than South Korea, then you don't know, and a hand-wavey "probably" is worth nothing. And I'm not sure you could get an answer if you tried: perhaps the process has become more transparent recently, but when I last looked, PPP was mystery meat, without enough published detailed ingredients to allow the public to understand exactly why one country's PPP factor was bigger than another's. Anyway, PPP GDP is not a good measure of living standards because it wasn't designed to be. PPP is meant to internationally standardize the values of products and services. Standardizing values of housing is indeed a very big problem, as is government, health care, military, infrastructure, much else. PPP is not relevant to comparing the successes or failures of policy.
The chart doesn't seem to show that much SE catch-up, given that they're poorer, outside of Vietnam. And Vietnam is called out as one of the ones implementing the studwell formula.
I love when a couple bloggers I read start discussing a book that is somewhere on my queue of to-read, but the queue is realistically growing faster than books are moving forward on it.
It sure feels like most success stories use the variables in some idiosyncratic combination - export discipline, land reform, financialisation - with the idea that implementing those variables also brings with it state legibility and accountability (not a guarantee). Which means it kind of comes down to the state, in some deep meaningful sense, deciding that it wants progress and aligning the various parts to act in concert. If there are factions fighting against it insidiously (as opposed to outright opposition, which is fine) through delays or corruption, this wouldn't work. The ur-capability seems to be to engender some level of professionalism within the state capacity to get things done.
Noah -- on Scott's post there's a lot of comments about Land Reform, and people are pointing out that "Land Reform" is a really vague category that can include everything from "Land to the Tiller" to "Murder all the landlords and give away the land to politically connected cronies." Kind of like how "Church reform" can mean anything from "Tweak the Catholic Church a bit on the edges" to "Enforce state Atheism" to "Let's all become Amish," etc.
What's your personal take on what the most effective kind of "Land Reform" that actually works is?
Very interesting this article about this book because I already read and loved this brilliant little summary.
Isn't there a general problem with the "Development is about getting policy right" approach without addressing why "correct policies" seems to be so highly geographically correlated? Western Europe, East Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, etc. tend to have relatively similar development trajectories (with the occasional outlier), so while these might be driven by similar policy prescriptions, it raises the question of why certain policies are pursued in certain areas rather than others.
Somewhat relatedly, it seems an often neglected variable is the intention of the leaders. Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein and the Kim dynasty didn't just fail at implementing the correct policies, they had no desire to improve the lot of their citizens, whereas (arguably) Deng Xiaoping, Lee Kuan Yew and others did. This again raises the question of why "Development autocrats" tended to emerge more in some regions than others. But this approach, linking politics and geography, seems to be an important part of the story, no?
I'm big fan of How Asia Works and Noah's tireless campaign to draw attention to it. I think it even has lessons for democratic advanced countries (we could use a little land reform and some financial dirigisme).
One thing people from an English speaking background might not be aware of is how advanced the East Asian economies were pre-industrialisation (not to be patronising, this was me until the age of 25). Even though they were super poor on a per-capita basis, the urban consumer economy was very advanced, on a par with the richest cities of Europe. At least, that was my impression of reading some old Japanese and Chinese novels and memoirs. So when the industrial revolution finally started, it was playing into an environment that already had a long history of paper money, literacy, futures markets, consumer fashions, entertainment industry and so on. It may have been a small percentage, but a small percentage of a huge population. For places like Central America or sub-Saharan Africa that had a different history and pattern of population density, the jury is out whether they can get to 10% GDP growth. But I think it's worth a try, and Ethiopia seems to be making a go of it without a lot of natural advantages.
The chart doesn't seem to show that much SE catch-up, given that they're poorer, outside of Vietnam. And Vietnam is called out as one of the ones implementing the studwell formula.
Do you ever plan to create a post about the economic history of Costa Rica? It strikes as a relative success story in the Central American region.
I feel like we've raised the ante for development over time. Things like a developed energy sector, communications, even specialized skills like cyber security are increasingly required to keep everything running and produce consistent output.
I don't know if that comes up in any models, but seems relevant, and might explain why some countries that seem ready have to wait in line, they are working on all the invisible prerequisites to reliability.
Interesting article. Hopes Bangladesh is on the queue next after these other countries are done. The zero-sum-game might because these countries rely on exports to develop and they might be competing with each other in the market. But I don't know enough about the supply chains in Asia to make that judgement.
BTW I liked your article on Bangladesh. If you don't mind reading subtitles, you should this video (https://youtu.be/rdC4BsMYUEQ). This cunt used to work for the World Bank and he covered some extra stuff that you missed. Let me know what you think.
The book is called on board the good ship earth signed and dated inside jacket 1913. Aug.15th beautiful inscription too.
This was LOUD and I enjoyed it very much .. Reminded me of some other writings I once knew and had forgotten. Beautiful really a book published early 1920s by Herbert Quick . it's one of the shares test of time and it grand and someday I shall think it be even held as a bigger prize of treasure my copy happened to be signed and inscribed by the author. Also have you ever read ARGUING WITH IDIOTS? BY GLEN BECK? ITS delightful and a real ball buster. Deff recommend that for a future read it's many years past now old. Thank you for sharing again great stuff. Some time ago I suffered from maybe head trauma of some sort never told or confirmed to my knowledge and the past 3 years suffer from black mold spores mildew hiding in my walls and floors from hurricane water damage never inspected over many different storms , this has since suffered me greatly and my memories have been erased , I have nothing of past and it's prevented me from courage in stepping to a positive future. The mold has almost shut me down if it weren't for bible and books and faith alone I wouldn't even made up this far ... Taken some much abuse from a man suffering fro. Worse exposure then myself from chemical liquid gas plant conversion and both have been in a mold infestation trapped unhappy and unhealthy no one told us and it is still happening today. I can't remember much and no one allowed me the truth and I continue to overcome and represent myself with strange amounts of priceless knowledge and so much treasures has found its way back to me by universal law. Still I cry and am yet forced to start over again each day and frustrated to the controlling man who holds me here in the wet wood . I don't have much family or friends bc I don't get to leave my house often and I'm a strong willed tradition women. I have lost confidence from abusive relationship I live in and someday I pray to be set free and to understand all the questions I need to ask and to so all the answers the world needs to hear and know. It's far to much ya know for one person to hold inside its a shame I wasn't told more. I know who I am really though, no one told me that much , it rescued me from a hell I had made good living In and would of continued that way. However myself found myself and fell in love and then found my other self and my love Soul mate twin spirit that I am still missing ..... I knew who I was bc I would scream myself crying dying alone and poor broke down held down and controlled like a doll, the pain is never left and I know it lives and YET I can't find it in my entire body and mind to stay hating it longer then a couple hours and that is the strength of my life and it scares me bc I need some one to draw the line in the sand for me bc I have forgotten the will it takes to do so. Thank you again. Best of wishes to you and yours. Xo!!!! Regretfully no memories left.
I don't want to get any discussion on state development, but giving the state officials the role of "Cut off support to companies that try to export and fail" seems very obviously myopic.
Re PPP, if you haven't dug into the data and examined why Taiwan gets a much bigger PPP adjustment than South Korea, then you don't know, and a hand-wavey "probably" is worth nothing. And I'm not sure you could get an answer if you tried: perhaps the process has become more transparent recently, but when I last looked, PPP was mystery meat, without enough published detailed ingredients to allow the public to understand exactly why one country's PPP factor was bigger than another's. Anyway, PPP GDP is not a good measure of living standards because it wasn't designed to be. PPP is meant to internationally standardize the values of products and services. Standardizing values of housing is indeed a very big problem, as is government, health care, military, infrastructure, much else. PPP is not relevant to comparing the successes or failures of policy.
The chart doesn't seem to show that much SE catch-up, given that they're poorer, outside of Vietnam. And Vietnam is called out as one of the ones implementing the studwell formula.