Patterns of Development, 1950-1970

Abstract

The past forty years have seen numerous attempts to discover uniformities in economic behavior by a comparison of economies at different levels of income. Many detailed comparisons have focused on individual characteristics of developing countries, notably consumption, savings, investment, taxation, industrialization, and population growth. These studies apply a variety of statistical methods to different country samples and time periods - their results are not generally comparable. However, they do demonstrate the value of comparative analysis for a variety of purposes. The main objective of the report is to provide a comprehensive description of the structural changes that accompany the growth of developing countries and to analyze their interrelations.