ABSTRACT
The 'trickle down' theory held that general economic growth would trickle down to the masses in the form of jobs and opportunities, along with better distribution of other benefits of growth. Despite occasional diversions, conventional economic theory of development since the Second World War has been dominated by the concept of growth. The levels of investment, efficiency, and technology behind any infrastructural development are critical to its success and, like the measurement of growth, to the all-important question of who actually benefits from it. Infrastructural development in many parts of the South predates ancient Greece and Rome by centuries, and has continued up to the present day. Massive dam projects are another form of infrastructure development. With varying emphases on irrigation, flood control and power generation, they have captured the imagination of planners and absorbed great amounts of development spending.
