ABSTRACT
This chapter utilises several expressions when referring to different stages of economic development. Sustained economic development is unlikely without industrialization as the term newly industrializing countrie (NIC) suggests in its reference to the gradual and evolving process. There are indicators signaling when a country becomes a NIC and when it has matured into a developed economy. With economic development comes a greater consumption of natural resources reflected in higher consumption rates of both food and nonani-mate energy sources. The availability of sufficient infrastructure and social overhead capital is vital as a stimulus to industrialization. Government policies are not indicators of whether a country is a NIC. In addition to political stability, they have an important effect on the probable success or failure of a country in its quest to industrialize and ultimately to become a mature economy. Newly industrialized countries most likely will face intermittent periods of growth, stagnation, and regression on their way to economic development.
