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Journal of Economic Literature Vol. 40 No. 3 2002

Review of Easterly’s The Elusive Quest for Growth

Romain Wacziarg

Stanford University and NBER

Abstract

William Easterly's superb book draws on what we have learned from almost two decades of cross-country growth comparisons, providing a critical synthesis of the current state of empirical knowledge on growth. The author emphasizes policy and institution-driven incentives for growth, and also critically surveys evidence for more traditional sources of growth such as factor accumulation. Another contribution of the book is an accessible and detailed description of the vicious cycle of adjustment loans directed by the World Bank and IMF at countries that squander these resources in current consumption rather than investment, leading to stagnant growth, debt crises, debt relief and further adjustment loans.

DOI
10.1257/002205102760273823
Volume
40
Issue
3
Pages
907-918
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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