Book Reviews : The Theory and Experience of Economic Development. Essays in Honor of Sir W. Arthur Lewis. Edited by Mark Gersovitz, Carlos F. Diaz-Alejandro, Gustav Ranis and Mark R. Rosenweig. George Allen & Unwin. £25
| Published date | 01 October 1982 |
| DOI | 10.1177/004711788200700416 |
| Date | 01 October 1982 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
2248
The
book
deals
with
the
situation
of
the
United
States
since
World
War
II
when
&dquo;the
dollar
was
recognized
at
the
bedrock
of
the
international
system
of
finance
and
trade&dquo;
and
at
the
same
time
stresses
how
little
the
United
States
was
prepared
in
this
field-as
indeed
in
others-for
such
a
leading
role:
&dquo;a
role
that
had
previously
been
handled
by
the
British
whose
pound
had
served
as
the
currency
of
stability
for
centuries&dquo;.
’
In
I
1 Chapters
the
author
covers:
The
U.S.
Balance
of
payments;
The
U.S.
Balance
of Trade;
The
Growing
Role
of
Energy
in
Trade;
Breakdown
of
the
World
Monetary
System;
The
Changing
Role
of Banking
in
International
Trade;
the
Role
of International
Agencies
in
Trade;
Development
of International
Rules
on
Trade;
A
New
Force
in
International
Trade:
The
Developing
Countries;
The
Impact
of
Trade
with
Nonmarket
Economies:
U.S.
Productivity
and
Competitiveness
in
International
Trade:
and
Conclusions.
The
author’s
aim
is
to
examine
the
causes
for
America’s
relative
economic
decline.
One
of the
most
pregnant
and
illuminating
statements
is
that
in
ChapterI
that
probably
&dquo;the
best
lay
definition
of
what
is
a
strong
currency
as
opposed
to
a
weak
one
may
be
that
a
strong
currency
is
one
in
which
international
investors
have
expressed
confidence&dquo;.
What
gives
rise
initially
to
such
a
&dquo;magic
aura&dquo;
is
much
less
certain
although
it
governs
the
movement
of
money
into
or
out
of
a
currency
&dquo;regardless
of
the
political
consequences
of
such
movement
or
individual
administrations,
or
even
the
viability
of
governments
themselves&dquo;.
The
author
goes
on
to
show
how
three
American
Administrations,
with
little
understanding
of
the
complex
world
of
international
finance,
made
critical
decisions
that
nearly
brought
about
an
international
monetary
collapse:
the
Johnson
Administration,
which
financed
the
Vietnam
War
by
increasing
the
indebtedness
of
the
United
States
at
a
time
when
it
had
not
yet
begun
to
reduce
our
World
War
11
debt;
the
Nixon
Administration,
which
declared
in
1971 that
the
United
States
would
no
longer
use
gold
to
meet
its
international
debt
obligations,
and
the
Carter
Administration,
which
for
two
years
encouraged
a
decline
in
the
value
of
its
currency
and
in
the
process
accelerated
world
inflation
by
massive
transfers
into
currencies
other
than
the U.S.
dollar.
He
points
out
that
&dquo;There
is
today
in
the
United
States
a
clear
need
to
change
the
direction
of our
thinking
on
the
relationship
amonggovernment
business
and
lahour,
and
on
the
implementation
of national
goals&dquo;...&dquo;If
we
(the
U.S.A.)
are
going
to
provide
the
innovative
thinking
that
may
involve
the
many
problems
the
world
faces,
we
need
to
be
more
humble.
more
respectful
of
the
aspirations
of
others,
less
sure
of own
answers,
and
much
more
willing
to
listen&dquo;.
He
stresses
that
much
of
the
world’s
problems
come
from
America’s
&dquo;failure
to
understand
the
linkage
between
international
trade,
economic
growth
and
the
value
of
our
currency&dquo;.
Only
a
clear
understanding
of
what
went
wrong
will
show
the
way
to
make
it
right.
Whether
you
agree
or
disagree
with
the
diagnosis
this
is
a
most
thought-provoking
exposition
of
the
world’s
current
economic
dilemma.
The
Theory
and
Experience
of
Economic
Development.
Essays
in
Honor
of
Sir
W.
Arthur
Lewis.
Edited
by
Mark
Gersovitz,
Carlos
F.
Diaz-Alejandro,
Gustav
Ranis
and
Mark
R.
Rosenweig.
George
Allen
&
Unwin.
£25.
This
book
consists
of
a collection
of original
essays
by
a
group
of distinguished
international
scholars
which
reflect
the
varied
set
of
specific
issues
forming
the
subject
of’
Professor
Lewis’s
research
interests.
As
he
himself
said,
he
has
made
&dquo;an
over
ambitious
attempt
to
interpret
the
inter-war
years
in
the
setting
of world
economic
history&dquo;.
As
Konald
Findlay
remarks
in
his
opening
assessment
of
Lewis’s
contribution
to
economics
&dquo;One
of
the
main
strengths
of
his
work
on
development
economics
is
that
he
has
never
considered
the
problems
of
the
LDCS...iI1
isotation
but
always
in
the
context
of
the
world
economy
as
a
single
interdependent
system.&dquo;
The
scope
of
his
work
is
further
elucidated
by
Professor
Bhagwati
who
classifies
it
into
three
majorcategories:
political
economy;
historical
analysis: and
modeling
development
problems.
&dquo;...Thus
his
model
ofdevelopment
with individual
supply
of
labour
builds
on
classical
economic
thought
as
also
on
historical
insights
into
the
development
process
combined
with
an
acute
appreciation
of’
the
institutional
peculiarities
of
the
overpopulated
developing
countries.&dquo;
The
collection
is
divided
into
four
Parts.
Part
One:
The
Dual
Economy:
Lewis
and
the
Classicists,
by
Gustav
Ranis
and
John
C.
H.
Fei;
The
Pattern
and
Shift
of
Labor
Force
from
Agriculture.
1950-70,
by
Simon
Kutznets;
Food
Price
Inflation,
Terms
of
Trade
and
Growth.
by
Lance
Taylor;
Alternative
Theories
of
Wage
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