The Quest for Prosperity

"Lin, the chief economist and senior vice president for the World Bank from 2008 to 2012, tackles prevailing shibboleths in this provocative and challenging work... While there is no easy answer to these problems, Lin's reminder that such development is not a 'zero-sum game' suggests that his thoughtful study should resonate among international audiences."--Publishers Weekly "[A] brilliant survey of economic thought on the subject, from Adam Smith through Solow-Swan to Michael Spence's Growth Commission. Thousands of authoritative-sounding economic history essays will be written on the back of it by students smart enough to read it before their professors do... [A]s an accessible summary of how the World Bank ... thinks about development these days, The Quest for Prosperity is hard to beat. It will quickly find its way on to the course reading lists for development economics master's programmes."--Howard Davies, Times Higher Education "Justin Lin, the Chinese economist who was, until recently, chief economist of the World Bank, has written a book that is as remarkable as it is ambitious: its aim is to show the route to economic development. This is ambitious, because it has been the holy grail of economics since its inception. It is remarkable, because he largely succeeds. One does not have to accept everything Lin argues to recognise that he has made an invaluable contribution... Moreover, the book is also excellently written. A book on a subject of the highest importance, which is intelligent, original, practical and thought-provoking, deserves indeed to be read."--Martin Wolf, Financial Times "In this book, Justin Yifu Lin, the World Bank's first non-western chief economist, offers a fascinating overview of development thinking since the Second World War."--Lisa Moyle, Financial World "Here, Lin, a former chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank, explains here in detail the model he created there for developing economies to achieve success and sustainability... The book is well organized and thus it is easy for readers to find information discussed throughout the book as a whole. Lin's use of history and popular culture metaphors make complex economic concepts more accessible to lay readers, especially in his analysis of global economics."--Library Journal "The most valuable new book I've read this year is Justin Yifu Lin's The Quest for Prosperity... Lin's book is intellectually ambitious. He sets out to survey the modern history of economic development and distill a practical formula for growing out of poverty. It's a serious undertaking: Lin isn't trying to be another pop economics sensation. But The Quest for Prosperity is lightly written and accessible. It weaves in pertinent stories and observations, drawing especially from his travels with the World Bank. He leavens the economics skillfully."--Clive Crook, Bloomberg News "Lin ... makes a case for what he calls a 'new structuralist' approach to economic development. Drawing on the experience of many countries, especially China, he argues for an active role for government in fostering development, not only through the traditional provision of infrastructure and the enforcement of rules but also in identifying and supporting industries that contribute to growth... Lin presents a thought-provoking argument."--Foreign Affairs "The book is peppered with deep insights from economic thought, practical wisdom, and personal experience, and is easily accessible to policy makers, business leaders, and undergraduates studying development economics."--Choice "[T]his is indeed a stimulating volume, clearly indicating the author's extraordinary command of the development literature and his equally extraordinary level of motivation in making his case."--Gustav Ranis, Journal of Economic Literature "The Quest for Prosperity is an interesting and enjoyable read."--Mukti P. Upadhyay, European Journal of Developmental Research