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Unexpected Propserity explains how Spain managed to avoid the middle income trap. With an original interpretation of the economic rise of Spain, Calvo-Gonzalez addresses questions about the political economy of reform, the role of industrial and public policy, and the enduring legacy of political violence and conflict.
List of contents
- Introduction
- Part I - Foundations
- 1: The Control of Violence
- 2: A Critical Juncture
- 3: Political Stability
- Part II - Take-off
- 4: More than Macro Stability
- 5: Why Reform?
- 6: Openness
- 7: Contestability
- Part III - Turning Growth to Development
- 8: Policy Tinkering
- 9: Ideas and Aspirations
- 10: Lucking Out
- Conclusions
About the author
Oscar Calvo-Gonzalez is a Director in the World Bank's evaluation department. He has been with the World Bank since 2006, leading lending operations and analyses in multiple countries. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. He was previously at the European Central Bank and trained as an economic historian at the London School of Economics. He has published widely on economic policy issues, including on the application of behavioral insights to public policy, and on Spanish economic development.
Summary
Unexpected Propserity explains how Spain managed to avoid the middle income trap. With an original interpretation of the economic rise of Spain, Calvo-Gonzalez addresses questions about the political economy of reform, the role of industrial and public policy, and the enduring legacy of political violence and conflict.
Additional text
Of over hundred middle-income countries in 1960 only a dozen had become high-income by the turn of the century. Most have remained stuck in the middle-income trap. How Spain managed not to do this, seemingly against all the odds, is well told by Oscar Calvo-González, a Spanish economist at the World Bank, in his enlightening book Unexpected Prosperity.
