Symposium on the State and Economic Development

Abstract

The role of the state in economic development is one of the oldest topics in economics, yet controversies rage with similar passion and camps are divided on lines today broadly similar to the early writings. Though the authors of the papers in this symposium present different views, they all refuse to pose the question as a simple choice between the market mechanism and state intervention. Larry Westphal and Albert Fishlow evaluate the South Korean and the Latin American experience, respectively, in their essential complexity. Mrinal Datta-Chaudhuri draws upon a comparative study of the Indian and East Asian cases to bring out the contradictions and complementaries in the relationship between the state and the economy. Anne Krueger's paper reflects on how the comparative advantages and disadvantages of state action flow from its organizational and incentive characteristics.