Protectionism for development

Economic development requires tariffs, regulation of foreign investment, permissive intellectual property laws, and other policies that help […] producers accumulate productive capabilities

Says Ha-Joon Chang, a Cambridge economist and the author of "Bad Samaritans: Rich Nations, Poor Policies and the Threat to the Developing World." He argues that rich countries should not deny the poor ones the very same route they had once themselves taken to develop.

[The] truth of the matter is that [developing] countries have grown significantly more slowly in the "brave new world" of new-liberal policies, compared with the "bad old days" of protectionism and regulation in the 1960s and the 1970s.

Growth has failed particularly badly in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, where neo-liberal reforms have been implemented most thoroughly. In the "bad old days", per capita income in Latin America grew at an impressive 3.1 per cent per year. In the "brave new world", it has been growing at a paltry 0.5 per cent. In sub-Saharan Africa, per capita income grew at 1.6 per cent a year during 1960-80, but since then the region has seen a fall in living standards (by 0.3 per cent a year).

To hear Mr. Chang talk about asymmetric protectionism click here, and to read more here.