The Democratic Developmental State


Book Description

The concept of a democratic developmental state is part of the current development discourse advocated by international aid agencies, deliberated on by academics, and embraced by policymakers in many emerging economies in the global South. This volume investigates these attempts to establish a new and more inclusive conceptualization of the state.




The Democratic Developmental State


Book Description

The 1990s have witnessed the ascendance of a new orthodoxy which asserts that democracy and development are mutually reinforcing. This is in marked contrast to the dominant consensus that held sway for the previous two decades, which stated that developmental progress in poor societies was best assured by strong states, ruled by authoritarian regimes. Today, however, many new democracies are illiberal, non-participatory, and characterized by enormous inequalities. Developmental democracy cannot therefore be regarded as an assured outcome of a simultaneous process of economic and political liberalization. The central inquiry of this important new study concerns the extent to which it is possible to strive towards a new form of developmental state that can promote broad-based and equitable development in the context of legitimized, inclusive democracy. The argument running through this book is that there is scope for continuous political intervention in the design of democratic institutions that shape the context of state-led development initiatives. Institutional arrangements which foster political participation, the dispersion of political power, and increased representation by women and other disadvantaged groups can make democratic regimes more sensitive to issues of poverty, social welfare, and gender discrimination through remedial action and policy commitments. Oxford Studies in Demcratization is a series for scholars and students of comparative politics and related disciplines. Volumes will concentrate on the comparative study of the democratization processes that accompanied the decline and termination of the cold war. The geographical focus of the series will primarily be Latin America, the Caribbean, Southern and Eastern Europe, and relevant experiences in Africa and Asia. The Series Editor is Laurence Whitehead.




Developmental States


Book Description

The concept of the developmental state emerged to explain the rapid growth of a number of countries in East Asia in the postwar period. Yet the developmental state literature also offered a theoretical approach to growth that was heterodox with respect to prevailing approaches in both economics and political science. Arguing for the distinctive features of developmental states, its proponents emphasized the role of government intervention and industrial policy as well as the significance of strong states and particular social coalitions. This literature blossomed into a wider approach, firmly planted in a much longer heterodox tradition, that explored comparisons with states that were decidedly not developmentalist, thus contributing to our historical understanding of long-run growth. This Element provides a critical but sympathetic overview of this literature and ends with its revival and a look forward at the possibility for developmentalist approaches, both in the advanced and developing world.




The Developmental State


Book Description

Developmental state, n.: the government, motivated by desire for economic advancement, intervenes in industrial affairs. The notion of the developmental state has come under attack in recent years. Critics charge that Japan's success in putting this notion into practice has not been replicated elsewhere, that the concept threatens the purity of freemarket economics, and that its shortcomings have led to financial turmoil in Asia. In this informative and thought-provoking book, a team of distinguished scholars revisits this notion to assess its continuing utility and establish a common vocabulary for debates on these issues. Drawing on new political and economic theories and emphasizing recent events, the authors examine the East Asian experience to show how the developmental state involves a combination of political, bureaucratic, and moneyed influences that shape economic life in the region. Taking as its point of departure Chalmers Johnson's account of the Japanese developmental state, the book explores the interplay of forces that have determined the structure of opportunity in the region. The authors critically address the argument for centralized political involvement in industrial development (with a new contribution by Johnson), describe the historical impact of colonialism and the Cold War, consider new ideas in economics, and compare the experiences of East Asian countries with those of France, Brazil, Mexico, and India.




The Political Economy of Developmental States in East Asia


Book Description

This book explores the variations in the transformation of the Asian developmental state in South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. Based on an original theory, the author argues that these variations are influenced by two factors: industrial structure and democratic transition, both of which are shaped by the strategic calculations of the ruling elites to maintain power. The theory concerns two concurrent political processes during the state’s development process, namely the emergence of economic interest groups with varying levels of policy constraints on the state; and the process of democratic transition driven by the rise of the middle class. The book will appeal to students and researchers in the fields of Asian politics, development studies, political economy and comparative politics.




Decadent Developmentalism


Book Description

Complementarities between political and economic institutions have kept Brazil in a low-level economic equilibrium since 1985.




The Feasibility of the Democratic Developmental State in the South


Book Description

The book examines the prospects of a democratic developmental state in Latin American, African and Asian countries, collectively referred to in this work as the global South. Practically, the state refers to the political leadership. Within this context, it interrogates the politics of the state and the unresolved critical issues it has engendered in the state-development discourse such as the need to re-conceptualize the developmental state, democratization, elections, inclusion, indigenous entrepreneurial and business class, political parties and cooperation among the countries of the South. It looks into the need to re-centre the sought state in the development process of the Southern countries after over two and a half decades of embracing neo-liberal policies and economic reforms that, rather than transform, sank the adjusted economies into deeper political, social and economic crises. It contends that the capacity of the state to overcome the market and democratic deficits resides with its democratic credentials. Finally, it suggests strategies that could lead to the rise of a democratic developmental state in the South.




Developmental State Building


Book Description

This open access book modifies and revitalizes the concept of the ‘developmental state’ to understand the politics of emerging economy through nuanced analysis on the roles of human agency in the context of structural transformation. In other words, there is a revived interest in the ‘developmental state’ concept. The nature of the ‘emerging state’ is characterized by its attitude toward economic development and industrialization. Emerging states have engaged in the promotion of agriculture, trade, and industry and played a transformative role to pursue a certain path of economic development. Their success has cast doubt about the principle of laissez faire among the people in the developing world. This doubt, together with the progress of democratization, has prompted policymakers to discover when and how economic policies should deviate from laissez faire, what prevents political leaders and state institutions from being captured by vested interests, and what induce them to drive economic development. This book offers both historical and contemporary case studies from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda. They illustrate how institutions are designed to be developmental, how political coalitions are formed to be growth-oriented, and how technocratic agencies are embedded in a network of business organizations as a part of their efforts for state building.




The End of the Developmental State?


Book Description

The End of the Developmental State? brings together leading scholars of development to assess the current status of the "developmental state" in several developing and transitional economies of South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, the United Kingdom, China, South Africa, Brazil and India. Has the concept of the developmental state become outmoded? These authors would suggest not. However, they do argue that the historical trajectories of developmental states in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe suggest all too clearly that the concept must be re-examined critically and creatively. The range and diversity of their positions and their rejection of stale programmatic positions from the past will revitalize the debate on the role of the state in social and economic transformation in the twenty-first century. By bringing together careful comparative analyses of national cases, in both the Global North and South, the volume highlights pivotal conditions – economic restructuring, domestic politics, epistemic shifts and ecological limits – that are forcing revision of the goals and strategies of developmental states and suggests that states that ignore these new conditions will indeed see the "end of the developmental state".




The Regional Roots of Developmental Politics in India


Book Description

This look at economic development in India focuses on interactions between the central state and regional elites. India is widely regarded as a "failed" developmental state, seemingly the exception that belies the prediction of a triumphant Asian century.