An Index of Articles on Development


154: Male Dominance in Bolivia, by Jack Powelson

"In Bolivia of 1960, the man was head of the household. The dominant male was also the head of the business firm, which was inevitably small. Oh yes, there were rich people in Bolivia, but rarely would they risk their money on a larger business, and anyone who was "lower class" could not possibly have good ideas (in the opinion of the upper class). Only big foreign companies would invest in larger businesses. Thus Bolivian industry rarely grew. In 1960 I had been an advisor to the monetary stabilization board, which consisted of all the cabinet. It met regularly with President Victor Paz Estenssoro. President Paz was the boss, and the whole cabinet knew it..." [3 Mar 07]

151: Trust and Economic Development, by Jack Powelson

"Why do some nations develop more economically, and some less so? Forty years ago I thought this was a pretty good question, which I decided to research. I worked on it 25 years... Now I have decided to condense the whole book into an essay of only two pages..." [6 Dec 06]

124: A Trusteeship for Zimbabwe? by Norman Reynolds

"The situation in Zimbabwe has become critical. The nation is suffering an economic, health and social implosion. After three fraudulent elections, a chaotic land redistribution program..." [7-Jun-05]

123: Zimbabwe: Background of the Crisis, by Jack Powelson

"In order to understand what is happening in Zimbabwe today, it is well to know a bit of history..." [4-Jun-05]

119: The History of Economic Development, by Jack Powelson

"While a Visiting Scholar at Harvard in 1980, I began writing a book that was ultimately named Centuries of Economic Endeavor. For fourteen years I labored on it..."

112: A Portrait of Paraguay, by Loren Cobb

"A curious flavor of Orwellian 'double-think' pervades this energetic and entrepreneurial society, cloaking awkward facts behind a thin veil of fantasized normalcy..."

110: The Path to a Durable Peace, by Loren Cobb

"In my experience with the Third World, which began as a young boy living near a refugee camp in Lahore, Pakistan, peace is seldom threatened by military war between nations, even though these wars receive the most attention in history. The absence of peace is, instead, ..."

108: Microfinance, by JD von Pischke

"Microfinance is currently a popular means of helping the poor in poor countries and in the former planned economies. I have been involved in microfinance for many years..."

104: The Moral Economy, by Paul Heyne

"Jack Powelson cares deeply about the power that some people are able to exercise over others and about every one of the problems that so disturb the enemies of the WTO. Like David Korten, he has spent considerable time in poor nations, and, also like Korten, he gives evidence of genuine compassion for the disadvantaged. But..."

86: A Marshall Plan for Iraq? by Asa Janney

"Many have claimed that this aid sparked the economic recovery of European countries, that it encouraged free enterprise, and boosted the American economy. Also, it is said to have done all this without becoming a toy of U.S. special interest groups. I doubt all these claims..."

85: Bolivia: Hard Choices, by Jack Powelson

"Ever since I was economic advisor to its president in 1960, Bolivia has been dear to my heart. Yet right now roadblocks are set up all over the country..."

68: Chiapas, Mexico, Part 2: Historical Antecedents, by Jack Powelson

"Will the peasants of Chiapas gain their freedom and dignity though fighting undertaken by the Zapatistas? Let us look to history for the answer..."

66: Chiapas, Mexico, Part 1, by Jack Powelson

"In Mexico, the hacienda system was abolished with the Revolution (1910-17), after which hacienda lands all over the country were confiscated and divided among the peasants. But Chiapas — far from Mexico City — was virtually forgotten..."

55: Listening to Vietnam, by Jack Powelson

"All that we fought for, all that we killed and maimed millions for, came to pass after we had lost the war. Vietnam is no longer beholden to the Soviet Union — indeed, the USSR doesn't exist — and it is socialist in name only, capitalist in fact..."

53: Who Will Pay for Water for the World's Poor? by Jack Powelson

"Thirty years ago, at a "starvation camp" in Northern Bolivia, Robin and I watched three persons eke out their week's supply of water from a deep, muddy hole..."

46: Slavery and the Mystery of Capital, by Jack Powelson

"The greatest imperialists of twenty centuries were Rome, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Ottoman Turkey, Mongolia, the Incas, the Aztecs, and the Islamic countries. None of these experienced an industrial revolution. Britain and France were also imperialists and slave holders, but to a much lesser degree. Rather, their wealth correlates more closely with inventiveness, innovation, and trade..."

37: NAFTA and Ideological Literature, by Jack Powelson

"Last month Bill Moyers appeared on television to condemn multinational corporations (MNCs) and NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement)..."

31: Will the USA follow Argentina? by Jack Powelson

"If you were an impartial observer in, say, 1890, you would not easily guess which country — the United States or Argentina — would be the dominant economic power in the Western Hemisphere a century later..."

20: The International Monetary Fund, by Jack Powelson

"Back in 1950, the gag was "How do you get to Washington?" Answer: "Go to Harvard and turn left." So I did just that..."

17: The World Trade Organization, by Jack Powelson

"Misinformation about the WTO that is currently making the rounds claims that..."

15: Kenya: A Turning Point, by Jack Powelson

"Kenya may have been the turning point, but it was only the culmination of a long-growing suspicion: Was my career as advisor to Third-World governments doing more harm than good? ..."

14: Land Seizure in Cali, by Jack Powelson

"As Luigi and I toured the slums of Cali in his Volkswagen, we found ourselves at a dead end before a large ceibo tree. Ahead lay a field, about a mile long and half a mile wide, dotted with what seemed like tents in a campground..."

6: What About the Population Problem? by Jack Powelson

"For decades we have been concerned with overpopulation. Now we discover that Europe, Russia, Japan, and other countries are deeply disturbed about loss of population..."

4: Can Quakers Learn from the Russians? by Jack Powelson

"During the thirties my mother handed me a copy of The New Russia's Primer: The Story of the Five Year Plan, produced by the Soviet Government in 1930. I was most impressed by how the Soviets would hand power to the people..."

1: China, by Jack Powelson

"In 1433 the Chinese Emperor canceled the voyages of one of the world's greatest sailors, Zheng He, and from that point on China languished economically, and its people sank into poverty..."

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