ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the economic development strategies less developed countries (LDC) have adopted over time, including import substitution, socialism, and export-led growth. With the revival of orthodox liberalism, LDCs have shifted to more open economic policies. It also examines the strategies LDCs have used to promote their economic development, and discusses the role the World Bank has played in framing debates on these strategies. The chapter briefly outlines issues raised by critics and supporters of the Bank. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and most industrial states strongly supported another development strategy in response to the 1980s foreign debt crisis and the 1990s Asian financial crisis: the orthodox liberal model. In 1993 the World Bank issued a report on The East Asian Miracle that examined the region’s remarkable record of high and sustained economic growth from 1965 to 1990. China’s incredible growth spurt from the 1990s has increased further the antagonism between market- and state-led growth paradigms.
