ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a broad overview of the international development industry and how it operates in response to global problems of poverty. It begins with the emergence of the developing world after the Second World War, and the creation of a new economic framework by Western nations to promote reconstruction and promote regional security; a framework that formed the basis for the development industry. Development is a multibillion-dollar industry comprising four main groups: multilateral agencies, bilateral agencies, nongovernment organizations, and private consulting firms. The various approaches or strategies that have formed the basis for particular development programs can then be located within the matrix. Approaches that characterized the early years of development included an emphasis on centralized state planning, capital investment, and industrialization. These strategies favored economic growth and management. Development strategies shifted from growth per se into a preoccupation with the equitable distribution of development benefits.
