Development and economy Agreements and disagreements

Abstract

Thought on economic issues is comprised of different perspectives. His relationship with development´s field has neither been linear nor direct. On the other hand, one can detect discontinuities, contrasts and complexities. Considering the series of controversies that have occurred throughout the history of the economy, some approaches show areas of intersection with the interdisciplinary field that contains the theme of development. Conversely, aspects related to development as growth and expansion of capital, have generated links with the different thesis that, on such issues, economists of different schools elaborated. This paper summarizes a few aspects of this complex relationship between development and economics, seeking to identify the points of coincidence and conflict between both perspectives. Without  claim to include all issues, Sections I to VII deal with specific aspects of the thought of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, Allyn Young, Joseph Schumpeter, John M. Keynes and Amartya Sen. In the case of Smith, analysis that, in contrast to the usual interpretation, placed his real thoughts far from the metaphor of the invisible hand are cited. While the idea of progress is associated with freedom, it is possible to observe significant closeness with development in its contribution on the division of labor. As it comes from much of the literature of the controversy over the meaning and measurement of capital (Cambridge versus Cambridge), at generalizing decreasing productivity raised by Ricardo in the case of earth to all factors of production, neoclassical thought goes away from the theme of development. Following the analysis of the sociologist Robert Nisbet, Marx represents the conviction that power is the path towards progress, associated with the change in social structures. Young takes up division of labor, but put it out from the firm, focusing the specialization of enterprises and between different industries to explain increases in productivity from systemic increasing returns. Schumpeter settles a foundational contribution to development´s understanding, indicating its endogenous character and integrating it to the field of economics. Although disagreeing with Marxist vision that anticipates the end of capitalism, he admits that the generation of innovations, (the engine of development) may be difficult in a context of oligopolistic markets. Freedom as a fundamental aspect, viewed positively as a set of opportunities, is recovered in the work of Amartya Sen. Section VIII deals with significant scholar and political legacy of the so-called pioneers of development. It selects specific aspects of the literature of Albert Hirschman, Gunnar Myrdal and Raúl Prebisch. Having played key roles in international organizations, they provide a comprehensive view of the phenomenon development-underdevelopment, within an international system with center and periphery. Their literature has resulted in new lines of research in the field of heterodox economic growth as cumulative causation models. Final Section IX proposes the need for a vision/perspective of development in scholars and policy-makers. An idea of development composed of multiple dimensions, including social, political aspects and relationship with the environment is exposed.