Unequal Development and Capitalism: Catching up and Falling behind in the Global Economy (Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy)

Unequal development has been a defining characteristic of capitalism. Throughout history, countries and regions have exhibited differences in labor productivity growth – a key determinant in poverty reduction and development – and although some nations may catch up with the productivity levels or well-being of developed economies at times, others fall behind. This book explores these processes of catching up and falling behind of developing countries from Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and Africa in relation to the US economy from 1970 to 2019. The research presented in this book integrates a historical interpretation of post-World War II capitalism with economic theory and empirical analysis. By exploring the historical experiences of these countries, the book provides an overview of their economic transformations. The interplay between technical change, profit rate and capital accumulation, on one hand, and institutional change, on the other, are combined to explain the dynamics of catching up or falling behind in labor and capital productivities. Furthermore, the book provides, from the perspective of developing countries, fundamental lessons for the implementation of successful strategies for catching up and development. This book is a major resource for readers interested in economic growth and development, heterodox macroeconomics, development economics, and related areas. Adalmir Antonio Marquetti is Professor of Economics at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. Alessandro Miebach is Associate Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. Henrique Morrone is Associate Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. Cover Endorsements Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents List of figures and tables Acknowledgments Introduction: Capitalist transformations and unequal development Economic thinking Capitalist transformation Profit rate and capital accumulation Environment crisis, population, and personal income distribution The book’s structure and how to navigate it 1. Measuring technical change, catching up, and falling behind globally Measuring growth and distribution Representing technical change The dataset Distribution, growth, and technical change worldwide: A first look Stylized facts 2. A growth model in the classical-Marxian tradition The standard classical-Marxian model The classical-Marxian model of catching up and falling behind Summary and extensions of the model 3. The US economy from the demise of the Golden Age to the crisis of neoliberalism From the Golden Age to the crisis of neoliberalism Technical change and distribution Capital accumulation, profits, neoliberalism, and growth Hegemony, neoliberalism, and capital accumulation 4. Running fast: Catching up in Asia A brief historical perspective of modern Asia Economic growth in modern Asia Technical change and profit rate: Industrialization, institutional change, oil rent, and conflicts The links between profitability, capital accumulation, and catch-up Dilemmas of catching up, profitability, neoliberalism, and environmental sustainability 5. From hope to frustration: Falling behind in Latin America Neoliberalism in Latin America: A brief account Technical change, profit rate, and premature deindustrialization Profit rate, capital accumulation, and neoliberalism Whither Latin America: Leaving neoliberalism? 6. Restarting capitalism in Central and Eastern Europe From breakdown to peripheral capitalism Technical change and profit rate Before and after the fall Capital accumulation in the Central and Eastern European countries Restarting capitalism and unequal development: Winners and losers 7. The forgotten continent: Falling behind in Africa A brief history of African countries after independence Technical regress and the profit rate in African countries Natural resources, profit rate, and accumulation The new frontier in the making Conclusion: Worldwide lessons for catching-up The necessary conditions for catching up Is (re)industrialization synonymous with catching up and reducing backwardness? Neoliberal capitalism and uneven development A new world ahead Index