Public opinion and economists alike pay much attention to issues concerning international economic inequalities, poverty, and globalisation. The authors of this volume have selected a set of facts and use them to illustrate problems of economic growth, economic theories that have been developed to interpret them and the ensuing economic policy options that try to solve them. The conceptually simple treatment and the elementary level of the mathematical reasoning make this text a useful tool for university students in Economics and Political Science.

Contents: Introduction - 1. Economic and Human Growth - 2. Stylised Facts - 3. Take-off and Long-term Development: Theoretical Interpretations - 4. Technological Innovation and Its Transformation - 5. Delays, Catching Up, and Convergence - 6. Increasing Returns and Models of Cumulative Growth - 7. The Theory of Endogenous Growth - 8. International Relationships and Economic Development - 9. Markets and Public Institutions in Developing Countries - Bibliographical References

Luciano Boggio teaches Economic Development Theory and directs the Development Economics Research Centre at the Catholic University in Milan.

Gilberto Seravalli teaches Economics and Development Politics at the University of Parma.