Book Description

The growth paradigm or the economic growth generally been presented as a positive, limitless and good for social problems. The term was hardly touched in pre-capitalism by any academic research. With the rise of capitalism and industrial revolution it became an important tool to measure production quantitatively and qualitatively. Industrialisation also encouraged the expansion of trade and gradual breakdown of the pre-capitalist order in 18th century in Britain. The spread of market had facilitated the specialisation, encouraging division of labour. Whilst for The Classical Political Economists; Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Thomas Malthus; economic growth is self-reinforcing. Marx pointed out importance of forces and relations of production and significance of social classes within it (Marx, 1863). Smith, Ricardo and Malthus were writing at a time when capitalist development was expanding fast and growth was a central in the process. The gradual impact of the West on the rest of world became part of a wider process of change in the World Economy. European capital increased its domination of the world trade through expansionist commercial policies (Wallerstein, 1979). The economic growth encouraged commerce. The necessity to export, and other technological changes formed part of the reason for the decline of feudalism. This transition from feudalism to capitalism began in the West and soon made an impact on the rest of the World. T Farhang Morady, Hakan Kapucu, Ömer Yalçınkaya (Development & Growth: Economic Impacts of Globalization) 12 In 1932 Simon Kuznets, the US economist identified Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to measure the national output of a country within a period. It has continued to be an important indicator to measure economic growth, but it has also been under considerable criticisms. For example; GDP treats resources as income without excluding depletion or depression of the resources. Moreover, GDP has been criticised for disregarding income distribution. Despite all the criticism, GDP has been the most significant indicator of growth and development. With the Post War-II reconstruction of devastated countries and in order to kick-start the World Economy, the state in both developed and developing counties became the important agency to facilitate economic growth. The establishment of the Bretton Woods institutions, the Keynesian model of government intervention and the US implementation of “New Deal” facilitated growth. This was deliberate strategy to reconstruct and create networks of international cooperation. This was pointed out by President Truman in 1949: A program of development based on the concepts of democratic fair-dealing. All countries, including our own, will greatly benefit from a constructive program for the better use of the World's human and natural resources (Truman, 1949). This meant the reinforcement and need to distribute the 'Benefits' of capitalist form of development, more widely, against the planned economy sustained by the Soviet Union. The economist such as Joseph Schumpeter pointed to the possibility that capitalist growth, if it is sustained, could abolish poverty (Schumpeter, 1954, pp66-68). Whilst development meant rapid industrialisation, GDP became a key policy objective for the policy makers and governments around the world, not just in the Soviet Union but the Western Capitalist World, to set targets for their Growth Rate. The end of the Cold War in the 1980s, for some, meant triumph of Neoliberal Capitalism. The others talked of trade liberalization; free movement of capital and the development of information technology, facilitating the relocation of businesses across the world. (Ohmae, 1995). Friedman suggested that globalization is the Inevitable; Integration of markets, nation-states and technologies ... enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states, to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before (Friedman, 1999). Development & Growth: Economic Impact of Globalization (Edited by: Farhang Morady, Hakan Kapucu, Ömer Yalçınkaya) 13 Francis Fukuyama (1992) suggested the new era as ‘The End of History’ through which the ‘Liberal Idea’ triumphed, leading to a new global hegemony. For Fukuyama the only route to modernity, growth and development is the Neo-liberal Democratic path under Global Capitalism. This optimism was not shared by all academics, as Globalization produced poor growth and polarization of wealth: what Collier terms the ‘Bottom one Billion’ (2008). As a result, there has been major criticism of the World Bank and the International Monetary Funds in the second half of the 1990s, especially with the Asian financial and economic crises. The response from these institutions has been vigorous. They continued to believe that liberalization, deregulation, and privatization represent the best way forward for growth and development. With 2008 world recession the World Economy has faced a new challenge. The emergence of powerful economies such as; China, India and Brazil; helped the world economy to grow, at least for now. However, the unevenness of the world economy continues to cause difficulties especially the US as they feeling the threat of their competitors such as China, Germany and even India. The victory of Donald Trump as the S President has represented an ideological shift from free trade advocator of global capitalism to a mixture of right-wing populism. Before and after the presidential election, he called for the revival of the American economy, which has been under considerable pressure since 2008 World Recession. In order to prove growth rate Trump has a huge challenge ahead, not least to deal with the competition from South East Asian economies, especially China. It remains to be seen whether the new US administration will continue with their populist rhetoric In this book, “Economic Impacts of Globalization: Growth & Development”, several academicians provide different analysis of economic growth and economic development. The scientific ethics and responsibility of the works in the book belong to the authors / writers. The book compromises of 15 chapters focusing on economic growth and economic development in the era of globalisation. By taking different angles, they demonstrate different problems and solutions.