When Gustav Ranis began his scholarly career in the field of economic
development, the global economy presented a landscape of widely contrasting
conditions for its participants. Almost two-thirds of the global population was
ill-fed, ill-housed, illiterate, and lacking access to proper medical care.
Today, four decades later, while standards of living have generally improved,
and some areas of Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East have become highly
productive economies, the gap between the wealthy few and the rest of the world
has widened. Very significant areas of the globe remain desperately poor.
In a much-needed effort to assess the current issues facing developing countries
and development economics,