This paper reviews the literature on the impact of ethnic diversity on economic development. Ethnically polarized societies are less likely to agree on the provision of public goods and more likely to engage in rent seeking activities providing lower levels of social capital. Initial conditions...

This paper suggests that area studies and economics have a better chance to be married successfully if we shift our attention from the exclusive emphasis on economic growth towards improvements in human development, especially the much broadened version of that concept. Different areas are shown...

This paper explores the links between economic growth and human development, identifying two chains, one from economic growth to human development, the other from human development to economic growth. The importance of various links in each chain are explored empirically with the help of...

This paper examines the causes of Taiwan's exceptional economic performance, focusing on the influence of organizational and policy choices and how Taiwan's example differs from those of more typical less-developed countries. After briefly citing cultural factors as proposed by his late...

The paper reviews experience in advancing Human Development since 1970 by investigating behaviour among countries that made the largest improvements in HD, and those that made the least improvement. The three developing countries with the fastest growth in the HDI over the period are selected...

Major changes in the political regime and decentralization strategy over the last few decades make Chile an interesting case-study of decentralization. Chile is a "narrow" nation covering almost three-hundred thousand square miles, ranging from coastal lands to the Andean mountain range. Its...