This paper is essentially autobiographical and describes Erik Thorbecke's journey through the history of development economics between the 1950s and the present. The paper consists of four parts. First, an introduction reviews briefly his professional career as a development economist and his...

This paper attempts to understand Asian Drama in the context of the development debates of its time, and in terms of the sensibilities that Gunnar Myrdal - the brilliant economic theorist and philosopher of knowledge, and Swedish politician - brought to the conceptualization of the problems and...

Gunnar Myrdal published Asian Drama in 1968, a work which made important analytical contributions to our understanding of development but was deeply pessimistic about Asia's future prospects. Since then, contrary to Myrdal's expectations, Asia's development has been remarkable, although...

Argentina experienced a decline in the early years of the 2000s, from 2000 to 2002, in GDP and in most labour market indicators, followed by improvements in nearly all of them, tracing out a U-shaped pattern. The international crisis of 2008 impacted negatively only on the unemployment rate and...

Between 2000 and 2013, Colombia experienced rapid economic growth. The country suffered a slowdown at the beginning of the period and during the international crisis of 2008, but during both slowdowns, the growth rate never turned negative. Most labour market indicators improved and followed the...

During the 2000s Chile achieved rapid economic growth and improved most labour market indicators: the unemployment rate fell; the mix of employment by occupational position and sector improved; the educational level of the employed population, the percentage of registered workers, and labour...

During the 2000s, Brazil experienced slow economic growth and a substantial improvement in labour market indicators. From 2001 to 2012, Brazil grew less than the Latin American average. However, the unemployment rate decreased, the employment composition improved, the educational level of...

During the 2000s Bolivia experienced moderate economic growth and improved all labour market indicators. The economy suffered a slowdown as a consequence of the international crisis of 2008, but Bolivia sustained positive growth rates during that episode. The unemployment rate fell between 2000...

During the 2000s Mexico grew less than the average for Latin America. Labour market indicators exhibited mixed changes, with improvements over the period for some of them and deterioration for others. The country was severely hurt by the international crisis of 2008, but Mexico surpassed its...

During the 2000s Honduras grew less than the average Latin American country and labour market indicators moved, in general, in a worsening direction. The only exceptions were the reduction in the unemployment rate and the improvements in the mix of employment by occupational group and...