The economics of growth has come a long way since it regained center stage for economists in the mid-1980s. Here for the first time is a series of country studies guided by that research. The thirteen essays, by leading economists, shed light on some of the most important growth puzzles of our time. How did China grow so rapidly despite the absence of full-fledged private property rights? What happened in India after the early 1980s to more than double its growth rate? How did Botswana and Mauritius avoid the problems that other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa succumbed to? How did Indonesia manage to grow over three decades despite weak institutions and distorted microeconomic policies and why did it suffer such a collapse after 1997?

What emerges from this collective effort is a deeper understanding of the centrality of institutions. Economies that have performed well over the long term owe their success not to geography or trade, but to institutions that have generated market-oriented incentives, protected property rights, and enabled stability. However, these narratives warn against a cookie-cutter approach to institution building.

The contributors are Daron Acemoglu, Maite Careaga, Gregory Clark, J. Bradford DeLong, William Easterly, Ricardo Hausmann, Simon Johnson, Daniel Kaufmann, Massimo Mastruzzi, Ian W. McLean, Georges de Menil, Lant Pritchett, Yingyi Qian, James A. Robinson, Devesh Roy, Arvind Subramanian, Alan M. Taylor, Jonathan Temple, Barry R. Weingast, Susan Wolcott, and Diego Zavaleta.

Edited and with an introduction by Dani Rodrik.

2002

Rodrik D, Subramanian A, Trebbi F. Institutions Rule: The Primacy of Institutions over Geography and Integration in Economic Development. 2002.Abstract

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Data

Revised October 2002.

Feasible Globalizations. 2002.Abstract

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There are limits to how far we can push deep integration, but luckily much more economic benefit can be squeezed out of globalization by designing the rules appropriately.

Rodrik D, Mukand S. In Search of the Holy Grail: Policy Convergence, Experimentation, and Economic Performance. 2002.Abstract

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Revised July 2002. A paper on the theory and empirics of policy choice in a world where institutions are context-specific. Publication version is here, with the appendix.

Rodrik D, McMillan M, Welch KH. When Economic Reform Goes Wrong: Cashews in Mozambique. 2002.Abstract

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An analysis of the case that became a microcosm of the globalization debate.

Rodrik D, Mayda AM. Why Are Some People (and Countries) More Protectionist Than Others?. 2002.Abstract

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Revised version, January 2002. Contains new results. Stolper-Samuelson does really well.

2001

Institutions, Integration, and Geography: In Search of the Deep Determinants of Economic Growth. 2001.Abstract

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An introduction to an edited volume of analytic growth narratives.

Comments at a Conference on Immigration and the Welfare State. 2001.Abstract

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