This chapter introduces figures on global poverty and comparison across world regions according to several indicators. It also includes a short discussion on the reliability of data and the fact that there is also evidence showing that poverty reduction is not as successful as many World Bank reports claim. Following the figures, there is a section on different theories of economic growth that underpin most development debates. Additionally, the chapter introduces the main topics of development macroeconomics such as the Washington Consensus and its criticism, thus including fiscal policy and the role of the state, trade liberalization and financial liberalization. Additional sections contain an introduction to industrial policy and institutions, thus heterodox issues that have been or still are neglected by mainstream economics. The introduction of these topics is made to subsequently explain their importance or their gaps that need to be filled by the book’s analysis.
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Front Matter
