ABSTRACT
In the fields of economics and the social sciences there are many good reasons for studying the processes and course of development. First of all, an adequate description of reality necessitates the systematic characterization of processes, change, and transitions. Naturally, this proposal is not new. However, interest in characterizing change has increased in a time that is seen as the turning point for many middle and long-term economic and social developments. Recently, it has been recognized that explanations based upon cross-sectional data are appropriate only in the relatively rare cases where there is no change in causal variables (Tuma and Hannan, 1984; Petersen, 1988). In other situations processes of change are best comprehended with the aid of longitudinal data. Furthermore, only those models of processes that capture the right causal mechanisms, and so do more than just account for certain outcomes, should be used as the basis of rational political intervention.
