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 | | Development Microeconomics by Pranab Bardhan, Christopher Udry ISBN-10: 9780198773702 ISBN-10: 0-19-877370-6 ISBN-13: 9780198773702 ISBN-13: 978-0-19-877370-2 Hardcover 1999-06-24 Oxford University Press, USA Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Traditional development economics has recently been revolutionized by the application of new economic tools and concepts. Development Microeconomics is the first in a series of books which will look at the entire spectrum of development economics issues, combining the strengths of conventional developmental thought with the insights of contemporary mainstream economics. The main new conceptual tool used is the application of the theory of imperfect information and the effects this has on the the behaviour of economic agents. This helps to explain why perfect competition models rarely have success when dealing with developing economies. The authors also stress the necessity of balance in dealing with many of the classic problems in development studiesthe importance of both the individual as economic agent and cultural norms as the framework of social behaviour; the dual relationship between equity and efficiency in economic policy-making; the importance of market rivalry and the potential of market breakdown. Designed specifically for graduate students, this book analyses the key microeconomic problems facing the very poorest sectors of developing economies. It utilises simple theoretical models, and is presented in a compact and analytical form. High technical sophistication is avoided, and the only pre-requisite is some familiarity with the tools of general microecomic theory at a first-year graduate or advanced undergraduate level. | ||
Reviews | ||
A nice and short compendium This is a fine and succint compendium of some of the most important results in modern Development MicroEconomics. The book is well written, and it can be a very useful guide for advanced undergraduate students, or graduate students who are looking for a short and good guide to some of the most important recent (and less recent) contributions to this literature. This books is a good complement to Deaton's "The Analysis of Household Survey", which truly is the bible of development microeconoics. While Deaton's textbook also surveys a huge amount of empirical results (covering also wonderfully well most of the necessary econometrics), Bardhan and Udry mostly discuss the theory, and the underlying models. Among the covered topics are: Intrahousehold allocation of resources, labor markets, migration, rural land markets, risk and insurance, credit markets, income distribution, technology diffusion (and many others). Chapters are pretty much self-contained, and about 20 pages long. This book really is an excellent starting point if you are looking for a graduate-level introduction to one of the literatures covered here. Most of the math is not forbidding, but advanced calculus, statistics & probability, integrals and derivatives and some dynamic programming will be necessary to understand the book. Highly recommended, I am just sorry I only discovered this book after I left grad school.... | ||
a very useful distillation of research This book synthesizes recent research in development microeconomics which extends the field beyond Walrasian general equilibrium paradigm to incorporate such features as informational asymmetries, network externalities, and various types of coordination failures. Topics covered in this volume include such things as household economics, rural credit markets, and the adoption of new techniques. The emphasis is on "applied theory" -- empirical evidence on the theoretical models is mentioned, but not discussed in depth. The arguemnts are presented verbally, graphically, and mathematically. The writing is quite clear. Numerous references are cited in the text and given at the end of each chapter. This small book would be very useful to graduate students and academics. Undergraduate students will probably find the math a little heavy. | ||