Economic Development (10th Edition) [Hardcover]

Michael P. Todaro (Author), Stephen C. Smith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321485734 | ISBN-13: 978-0321485731 | Publication Date: March 7, 2008 | Edition: 10

Economic Development , 10/e is the leading textbook in this field, providing a complete and balanced introduction to the requisite theory, the driving policy issues, and the latest research. Principles and Concepts: Economics, Institutions, and Development: A Global Perspective; Comparative Economic Development; Classic Theories of Economic Growth and Development; Contemporary Models of Development and Underdevelopment. Problems and Policies: Domestic: Poverty, Inequality, and Development; Population Growth and Economic Development: Causes, Consequences, Controversies; Urbanization and Rural-Urban Migration: Theory and Policy; Human Capital: Education and Health in Economic Development; Agricultural Transformation and Rural Development; The Environment and Development; Development Policymaking and the Roles of Market, State, and Civil Society. Problems and Policies: International and Macro: International Trade Theory and Development Strategy; Balance of Payments, Developing-Country Debt, and Issues in Macroeconomic Stabilization; Foreign Finance, Investment, and Aid: Controversies and Opportunities; Finance and Fiscal Policy for Development; Some Critical Issues for the Twenty-First Century. For all readers interested in economic development.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael P. Todaro was Professor of Economics at New York University for eighteen years and Senior Associate at the Population Council for thirty years. He lived and taught in Africa for six years. He appears in Who's Who in Economics and Economists of the Twentieth Century. He is also the author of eight books and more than fifty professional articles. 

In a special February 2011 centenary edition, the American Economic Review selected Todaro’s article “Migration, Unemployment and Development: A 2-Sector Analysis” (with J. Harriss) as one of the twenty most important articles published by that journal during the first hundred years of its existence.

Stephen C. Smith is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University. He received his PhD in economics from Cornell University. Smith is author of Ending Global Poverty: A Guide to What Works, co-editor of NGOs and the Millennium Development Goals: Citizen Action to Reduce Poverty, and author or coauthor of some three dozen journal articles.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 896 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley; 10 edition (March 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321485734
• ISBN-13: 978-0321485731
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very readable introduction to developmental economics., August 23, 2000

By 

J. Michael Showalter (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Economic Development (Hardcover)

Todaro in this book presents what is quite possibly the easiest to understand introduction to developmental economics that the world has to offer. He does not provide quick answers but a logical and well thought out conception of the complexities of the problems in a format that although not wholly excluding mathmatics, uses it only in appendixes, etc. to explain problems-- which leaves the book open to a wider audience (and also does not allow its readers into the overly simplistic answers that too much mathmatics sometimes hints at....) In my studies of development, this book more often than any other served as a quick reference and fairly handy bibliography. I recommend this book to any undergraduate student or student of public policy the world over. It should be a classic.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accessible and Comprehensive, April 12, 2003

By 

-_Tim_- (The Western Hemisphere) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Economic Development (8th Edition) (Hardcover)

The greatest problem facing economists today (I should say "facing the world today") is how to create wealth in the poorest countries of the world. This introduction to the subject is accessible to any reader, even those with very limited previous knowledge of economics. The book begins with a critical summary of current development theories and then takes on a number of policy questions, with case studies. Each chapter ends with discussion questions and the publisher maintains a web site with useful quantitative and graphing exercises (with answers).

Michael Todaro writes from a left-of-center perspective and is more ideological than most textbook writers. However, he presents other points of view and presents them pretty fairly in my opinion. And I have to say that he scores some pretty big points against the neoclassical theorists by showing that their assumptions are frequently at odds with reality.

While some of Todaro's more stridently ideological statements can be annoying, I know of no other book that provides such a comprehensive, well organized, and engagingly written introduction to economic development.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on the complexities of economic development., October 13, 1997

By 

Pedro J. Quintanilla (LAREDO, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Economic Development (Hardcover)

Todaros's text on the complexities a developing country must face and consider to lead itself out of poverty and backwardness gets better with every edition, now on its sixth. It is the only book I have found that, with unsurpasssed dexterity, combines economics, sociology and political science into a unifying frame that should be required reading for policymakers and government throughout the developing world. His writing style, clarity of exposition and long-term vision are absolutely second to none.