ISBN : 9780199659036
Elites have a disproportionate impact on development outcomes. While a country's endowments constitute the deep determinates of growth, the trajectory they follow is shaped by the actions of elites. But what factors affect whether elites use their influence for individual gain or national welfare? To what extent do they see poverty as a problem? And are their actions today constrained by institutions and norms established in the past? This volume looks at case studies from South Africa to China to seek a better understanding of the dynamics behind how elites decide to engage with economic development. Approaches include economic modelling, social surveys, theoretical analysis, and program evaluation. These different methods explore the relationship between elites and development outcomes from five angles: the participation and reaction of elites to institutional creation and change, how economic changes affect elite formation and circulation, elite perceptions of national welfare, the extent to which state capacity is part of elite self-identity, and how elites interact with non-elites.
1. Introduction: The Role of Elites in Economic Development
PART I: THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS
2. Elites and Property Rights
3. Elites and Institutional Persistence
PART II: THE FORMATION AND CIRCULATION OF ELITES
4. The International Circulation of Elites: Knowledge, Entrepreneurial, and Political
5. Fruit of the Vine? An Augmented Endowments-Inequality Hypothesis and the Rise of an Elite in the Cape Colony
6. Two for the Price of One? The Contribution to Development of the New Female Elites
7. New Light on China's Rural Elites
PART III: THE PREFERENCES OF ELITES
8. Poverty in the Eyes of Brazilian Elites
9. Mutual Interdependence between Elites and the Poor
10. Why Are the Elite in China Motivated and Able to Promote Growth?
PART IV: ELITES AND STATE CAPACTIY
11. The Simple Analytics of Elite Behaviour under Limited State Capacity
12. Is it Possible to Reform a Customs Administration? The Role of the Customs Elite on the Reform Process in Cameroon
13. Rekindling Governments from Within: Getting Public Sector Elite Officials to Support Government Reform in Brazil
PART V: GRASSROOTS RESPONSES TO ELITES
14. Tackling Elite Capture by the 'Counter-elite' and 'Co-opt-elite' Approaches in Bangladesh and Ghana
15. Understanding the Dynamics of Elite Behaviour in a Development Context