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Please join us for an STS Colloquium on Monday, March 5th (4:00 pm, MIT,
E51-095)<br><br>
<div align="center"><font size=4 color="#0000FF"><b>Nationalism and the
Firm<br>
Alice Amsden, Urban Studies and Planning, MIT<br><br>
</b></font></div>
Alice H. Amsden is Barton L. Weller Professor of Political Economy at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She received her bachelor's
degree from Cornell and her master's and Ph.D. degrees from the London
School of Economics. Amsden has been a consultant on industrial
development for the UN, World Bank, OECD and numerous governments.
She previously taught at Harvard Business School and the Graduate Faculty
of the New School for Social Research. She has contributed pieces
to <i>The New York Times</i>, <i>The Nation</i>, <i>World Policy
Journal</i>, <i>Technology Review</i>, <i>Milken Institute Review</i>,
<i>Mother Jones</i>, and other popular newspapers and magazines.<br>
Her forthcoming book (see description at the bottom of the page),
<i>Escape from Empire: The Developing World's Journey through Heaven and
Hell</i>, will be published by MIT Press, May 2007.<br><br>
<b><u>Abstract for Monday's Colloquium<br>
</u></b>Most development economists would agree that nationalism is
important in economic development since World War II, but how and why are
unclear. I equate nationalism with private nationally owned firms
in developing countries (POEs) as distinct from state-owned enterprises
(SOEs) and especially foreign owned enterprises (FOEs). The
premise---unproven---that I begin with is that POEs are better for
economic development than FOEs because they are more entrepreneurial
(they are the pioneers of more industries new to their country), whereas
the subsidiaries of multinational firms often suffer from bureaucratic
leadership and time-consuming procedures. Given the critical role
of POEs for economic development, I examine the historical conditions
under which they arose in particular countries, and whether that history
can be replicated today. POEs in Africa???<br>
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<a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/images/products/books/0262012340-f30.jpg">
<img src="cid:.0" width=150 height=222 alt="[]"></a><br>
<b>Escape from Empire<br>
The Developing World's Journey through Heaven and Hell<br><br>
</b>The American government has been both miracle worker and villain in
the developing world. From the end of World War II until the 1980s poor
countries, including many in Africa and the Middle East, enjoyed a
modicum of economic growth. New industries mushroomed and skilled jobs
multiplied, thanks in part to flexible American policies that showed an
awareness of the diversity of Third World countries and an appreciation
for their long-standing knowledge about how their own economies worked.
Then during the Reagan era, American policy changed. The definition of
laissez-faire shifted from "Do it your way," to an imperial
"Do it our way." Growth in the developing world slowed, income
inequalities skyrocketed, and financial crises raged. Only East Asian
economies resisted the strict prescriptions of Washington and continued
to boom. Why? In <i>Escape from Empire,</i> Alice Amsden argues
provocatively that the more freedom a developing country has to determine
its own policies, the faster its economy will grow. America's recent
inflexibility--as it has single-mindedly imposed the same rules, laws,
and institutions on all developing economies under its influence--has
been the backdrop to the rise of two new giants, China and India, who
have built economic power in their own way. <br><br>
Amsden describes the two eras in America's relationship with the
developing world as "Heaven" and "Hell"--a beneficent
and politically savvy empire followed by a dictatorial, ideology-driven
one. What will the next American empire learn from the failure of the
last? Amsden argues convincingly that the world--and the United
States--will be infinitely better off if new centers of power are met
with sensible policies rather than hard-knuckled ideologies. But, she
asks, can it be done?<br><br>
May 2007<br>
6 x 9, 224 pp., 9 illus.<br>
$27.50/16.95 (CLOTH)<br><br>
<br><br>
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