How Rich Countries Got Rich...and Why Poor Countries Stay Poor

In this refreshingly revisionist history, Erik S. Reinert shows how rich countries developed through a combination of government intervention, protectionism, and strategic investmentrather than through free trade. Yet when our leaders lecture poor countries on the right path to riches they do so in almost perfect ignorance of the fact that our economies were founded on protectionism long before they could afford the luxury of free trade. How Rich Countries Got Rich will challenge economic orthodoxy and open up the debate on why self-regulating markets are not the best answer to our hopes of worldwide prosperity.

A maverick economist explodes prevailing myths about economic development by arguing that protectionism sometimes makes nations rich and free trade keeps them poor.

Erik S. Reinert, editor of Globalization, Economic Development and Inequality: An Alternative Perspective, is Professor of Technology Governance and Development Strategies at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, and president of The Other Canon Foundation in Norway.

Publisher: PublicAffairs
Distributor: Perseus Books Group
Publication Date: 10-07-2008
Pages: 400
Measurements: 8.25in X 5.50in X 21.50oz