Getting better
Subtitle: why global development is succeeding : and how we can improve the world even more
By: Charles Kenny
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2011
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9780465020157
Description: As the income gap between developed and developing nations grows, so grows the cacophony of voices claiming that the quest to find a simple recipe for economic growth has failed. In sharp contrast, this work reports the good news about global progress. The author, an economist, argues against development naysayers by pointing to the evidence of widespread improvements in health, education, peace, liberty, and even happiness. He shows how the spread of cheap technologies, such as vaccines and bed nets, and ideas, such as political rights, has transformed the world. He also shows that by understanding this transformation, we can make the world an even better place to live. That's not to say that life is grand for everyone, or that we don't have a long way to go. But improvements have spread far, and, according to the author, they can spread even further.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Abandoning hope; title: The bad news : diverging incomes; title: The worse news : it's hard to raise growth rates; title: The good news : the end of the Malthusian trap; title: The better news : the great convergence in quality of life; title: The great news : the best things in life are cheap; title: Drivers of the better life : innovation, ideas, and institutions; title: Policies for the quality of life; title: The global agenda; title: Conclusion : realistic optimism.