Premature Deindustrialization. Journal of Economic Growth. 2015;21 :1-33.
AbstractI document a significant deindustrialization trend in recent decades that goes considerably beyond the advanced, post‐industrial economies. The hump‐shaped relationship between industrialization (measured by employment or output shares) and incomes has shifted downwards and moved closer to the origin. This means countries are running out of industrialization opportunities sooner and at much lower levels of income compared to the experience of early industrializers. Asian countries and manufactures exporters have been largely insulated from those trends, while Latin American countries have been especially hard hit. Advanced economies have lost considerable employment (especially of the low‐skill type), but they have done surprisingly well in terms of manufacturing output shares at constant prices. While these trends are not very recent, the evidence suggests both globalization and labor‐saving technological progress in manufacturing have been behind these developments. The paper briefly considers some of the economic and political implications of these trends.
PDF An Economist Turns Sleuth. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2015.
PDFThe Chronicle of Higher Education's Feature on Dani Rodrik, Pinar Dogan, and the Sledgehammer Case. October 16, 2015. Publisher's Version
Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of The Dismal Science. New York: W.W. Norton; 2015.
Publisher's VersionAbstractA leading economist trains a lens on his own discipline to uncover when it fails and when it works.
In the wake of the financial crisis and the Great Recession, economic science seems anything but. In this sharp, masterfully argued book, Dani Rodrik, a leading critic from within the science, renders a surprisingly upbeat judgment on economics. Sifting through the failings of the discipline, he homes in on its greatest strength: its many—and often contradictory—explanatory frameworks.
Drawing on the history of the field and his deep experience as a practitioner, Rodrik insists that economic activity defies universal laws. But when economists embrace their expertise as a set of tools, not as a grand unified theory, they can improve the world. From successful antipoverty programs in Mexico to growth strategies in Africa and intelligent remedies for domestic inequality, Rodrik highlights the profound positive influence of economics properly applied.
At once a forceful critique and a defense of the discipline, Economics Rules charts a path toward a more humble but more effective science.
Austerity Has Failed: An Open Letter From Thomas Piketty to Angela Merkel. 2015.
Publisher's VersionAbstractFive leading economists warn the German chancellor, “History will remember you for your actions this week.”
By Thomas Piketty, Jeffrey Sachs, Heiner Flassbeck, Dani Rodrik and Simon Wren-Lewis