The State and Development
Title
The State and Development
Author
Cohn, Samuel
Research Area
Social Institutions
Topic
Government Systems
Abstract
The state and development is a critical issue in speaking to contemporary debates about whether prosperity is best served by small or large government. The definition of foundational versus cutting‐edge research differs depending on whether the discipline is economics or sociology. There was an early agreement that government should be big for “big pushes” or “modernization.” Economics turned antistatist as a reaction to Soviet planned economies and to corruption in general. This led to a neoliberal attempt to create growth by shrinking state programs—an initiative that failed very badly. New work in economics emphasizes flexible approaches as to what states should do, promotes states building education, infrastructure and encouraging technology transfer, and puts great weight on institutional quality. Sociology emphasized the state as a protector of poor nations from the predations of international trade and multinational corporations. Emphasis was placed on hard bargaining by states in the Global South and in developmentalist states such as those in East Asia, which administratively allocate public investment monies to overcome inefficiencies. New work suggests that more modest programs emphasizing simple public goods can be effective. Emerging work also questions traditional specifications of the adverse effects of international trade leading to a different set of suggested remedies. Future directions need to focus on palliative development—strategies of state development that build the multiplier effect rather than base industries. Methodologically, within nation studies that residualize employment from market factors offer ways to identify new government programs that are effective.