The Limitations of the Special Case

Abstract

Dudley Seers wrote this in 1963, five years before he started as the first DirectorofIDS. The piece became one of the most cited of all his writings—and one of the most cited of all from IDS. It led to a conference in the United Kingdom on the teaching of development economics—and influenced much of the early work of IDS in research, teaching and consultancy. Although some parts are clearly dated, many of the criticisms have relevance today, even though the global economy has been changed by the growing influence of the emerging countries. But the economic and financial crisis of 2008–10 was not foreseen, nor the rapid recovery of Asia in contrast to the slow recovery of the United States and the even slower recovery of Europe. The whole piece remains a clear presentation of the structuralist approach to development, of which Dudley Seers, Hans Singer and Hollis Chenery of the World Bank were leading adherents.

Seers, D. (1963) ‘The Limitations of the Special Case’, Bulletin of the Oxford University Institute of Economics and Statistics 25.2: 77–98.