The origins of modern development economics are often traced to the need for, and likely problems with the industrialization of eastern Europe in the aftermath of World War II. The key authors are Paul Rosenstein-Rodan, Kurt Mandelbaum and Ragnar Nurkse. Only after the war did economists turn their concerns towards Asia, Africa and Latin America. At the heart of these studies, by authors such as Simon Kuznets and W. Arthur Lewis was an analysis of not only economic growth but also structural transformation.
Generally, there are two fundamentally different ways of organizing an economy. Market and Command Economy. A market economy is one in which individuals and private firms make the major decisions about production and consumption. In a market economy, decisions are made in markets, where individuals and enterprises voluntarily agree to exchange goods and services, usually through payments of money. A system of prices, of markets, of profits and losses, of incentives and rewards determines the what (profits), the how (costs) and the form whom (reward for inputs). [Laissez-faire economy] A command economy is one in which the government makes all important decisions about production and distribution. In a command economy, the government owns most of the means of production; it also owns and directs the operations of enterprises in most industries; it is the employer of most workers and tells them how to do their jobs; and it decides how the output of the society is to be divided among ...
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