Economic Development and Transition

'Development and transition pose extremely difficult challenges. In these masterly Lectures, Justin Lin, now the World Bank's Chief Economist, brings to these complex subjects a profound understanding of the problems they raise and also unusual insights from his first-hand experience with China's spectacular performance. The Lectures are a tour de force.' Jagdish Bhagwati, Columbia University

'No economist has a deeper understanding of the policies that have given rise to the Chinese economic miracle than Justin Yifu Lin. He has not only influenced the thinking of government and business leaders in China, but also of economic analysts in the United States and Western Europe. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the likely course of the global economy over the next generation.' Robert Fogel, Nobel Laureate, University of Chicago

'Justin Lin, who has been at the centre of the policy debates in China since the 1980s, has provided a masterly account of the economic rationale of the Chinese path of transition from the plan to the market. His book is essential reading for understanding the Chinese economic miracle.' Deepak Lal, University of California, Los Angeles

'Justin Lin's Marshall lectures provide an unrivalled opportunity to both understand the spectacular rise of Asian economics over the past several decades and to cast a jaundiced eye on standard explanations of development by economists. Western training in economics combined with an insider's exposure to China's development has given him both a sceptical view of standard western development economics and an intimate insider's view of the details of the pragmatic approach that has characterized Asian and particularly Chinese spectacular development.' Douglass C. North, Nobel Laureate, Washington University, St Louis

'This is an important book in many ways. Two strike me as central. Professor Lin is a scholar of great insight who has experienced and participated in the policy debate in China, the largest and fastest growing economy thus far. His intimate insight into policy formulation in a transitional economy informs his rigorous theoretical analysis and brings the development part of growth and development back to center stage. Second, the analysis of the consequences of aligning or misaligning the evolving endowments of an economy with its evolving growth strategy is insightful and surely right. It has its roots in trade theory and comparative advantage. But turning that into a body of dynamic analysis of growth strategy and policy is a major achievement.' Michael Spence, Nobel Laureate, Stanford University

'Justin Lin's study combines economic theory, institutional knowledge, quantitative data, and an appreciation for the importance of starting conditions in determining the success of different plan for economic development. His most unique contribution is the emphasis on how different starting points dictate very different optim...

Justin Yifu Lin is Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank. He obtained his PhD in economics from the University of Chicago in 1986 and returned to China in 1987, the first PhD in social sciences to return from abroad after China started economic reform in 1979. He was the founding director of China Center for Economic Research at Peking University from 1994 to 2008 and is the author of sixteen books, including The China Miracle (1996) and State-Owned Enterprise Reform in China (2001).

List of figures; List of tables; 1. Development, transition and divergence; 2. The search for a fundamental and changeable cause of prosperity; 3. Aspiration and social thought of modernization; 4. Development strategy, viability and performance; 5. Viability and strategies of transition; 6. Development strategy and development and transition performances: empirical analysis; 7. Why are East Asian economies so special? Are there any general lessons to be learned from East Asian development and transition experiences?; 8. Toward a right development and transition strategy; Appendix I. Development strategy and economic institutions in developing countries; Appendix II. Data description; References; Index.