The Role of Agriculture in Economic Development: The Lessons of History

The first part of The Role of Agriculture in Economic Development describes agricultural progress in Europe and the US since 1750, when modern societies began to develop and agriculture was an engine of growth. Since 1914, agriculture has experienced difficulties in spite of spectacular increases in productivity. This book also describes the beginning of agricultural policy during the Great Depression, and how it continued and developed in the EU and the US after World War II. Agricultural policy in the post-war period was built on the legacy of the past, and only in recent years have there been signs of fundamental reform. The second part of the book builds a model of the development process. The author emphasizes that it is not possible to explain development without looking simultaneously at the resources, technology, institutions, and attitudes prevalent in a country. The author develops a stage theory to identify the crucial factors driving economic development from period to period.