Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective [Paperback]

Ha-Joon Chang (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1843310279 | ISBN-13: 978-1843310273 | Edition: 1st

How did the rich countries really become rich?  In this provocative study, Ha-Joon Chang examines the great pressure on developing countries from the developed world to adopt certain 'good policies' and 'good institutions', seen today as necessary for economic development. His conclusions are compelling and disturbing: that developed countries are attempting to 'kick away the ladder' with which they have climbed to the top, thereby preventing developing countries from adopting policies and institutions that they themselves have used.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The most important book about the world economy to be published in years.' —'Prospect'

'This book is a joy: a fantastically useful teaching aid…a very necessary historical conscience in an age of amnesia.' —'The Business Economist'

'This is an intriguing book that raises important issues. Recommended.' —J. M. Nowakowski, Muskingum College, in ‘Choice’

Review

'A provocative critique of mainstream economists' sermons directed to developing countries… It demands attention.' —Charles Kindleberger, Emeritus Professor of Economics, MIT

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 187 pages
• Publisher: Anthem Press; 1st edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843310279
• ISBN-13: 978-1843310273
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #98 in Books > Professional & Technical > Accounting & Finance > International

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An iconoclastic and sophiscated work, March 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective (Paperback)

According to Michael Lind's book review in Prospect (Jan 2002), this book is "the most important book about the world economy to be published in years." And the author received the 2003 Myrdal Award for this book, which is awarded annually to a great academic achievement in the field of development/institutional economics following the late Swedish economist's name Gunar Myrdal who was a Nobel Prize laureate.

Prof. Ha-Joon Chang of Cambridge argues in this book that developed countries used some measures for promoting their economy in their earlier days of development, which they are now blaming for making the economies of developing country worse and the world economic order unfree.

The author reverses this logic. According to his arguments, policy-suggestions from such arguments of developed countries are in fact making the economy in developing countries lag behind and its development impossible, and such a rule of game in the world economy now can be rather unfair to them because developing countries even are often punished due to their using of the very same methods which developed ones used in the past.

As a critique of neo-liberal market fundamentalism, this book is very iconoclastic because it gives readers a sophisticated understanding of the real history of industrial development as well as pleasure of reading an academically original and creative work. This book is above all analytical in terms of using the method of historical comparisons. Some comparisons may be too bold. But its creativity and integrity in organizing the research overcome the limits of bold comparison.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A telling attack on free trade, August 18, 2010

By 

Edward Waffle - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective (Paperback)

Written more for an academic/professional/specialist audience than the general reader, Chang's short book is still accessible and full of information that is vital to our understanding of how the ideology of free trade has been created in order to reward developed nations at the expense of those trying to develop. The United States, Great Britain, Germany--essentially every country that has successfully industrialized--used tariffs, protections of infant industries, control of capital markets and other policies that poor countries are told they must not try or abandon if they are implementing them. The hammer has been the threat of losing funding from IMF or World Bank although the conditionalities of Structural Adjustment may be as harmful as the economic imbalances they are meant to address.

The ladder image is simple and brilliant. It was coined by Frederich List, a nineteenth century Germany economist, to describe how the already successful United Kingdom tried to impose free trade policies on nations that hadn't yet become industrial powers and is no less true today than it was in 1834.

Chang historical approach is devastating to free trade apologists and propagandists who serve the dominant development ideology which keeps poor countries poor. His more popular book "Bad Samaritans" is based some of the research evident here.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now I have more doubts than before - and that's excellent, August 31, 2006

By 

L. Nery (Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brasil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective (Paperback)

This is a book I intend to reread a year from now. I believe it has changed my perspective regarding international politics and developmental issues, so from now on I'll try and interpret facts through the perspective Chang provided. Meanwhile, I'll try and follow some of the bibliography he suggests to see if I can mitigate some of my doubts.

If you believe you're a neoliberal, this book is for you. It will challenge some of your most basic beliefs - and what could be better? You might be able to disagree with him entirely, but I'm sure that reading this book will sophisticate your thoughts in the matter and throw some doubts where there was none. Too bad this is not the best-seller it could have been.