Essentials of Development Economics, Third Edition

"In this book, Taylor and Lybbert have succeeded in producing an advanced undergraduate and masters textbook for our time. They manage to marry classical development economics—with its emphasis on structural transformation and international trade—with the more recent focus on poverty alleviation through microinterventions and improved public good delivery. The book covers a lot of ground in a concise, coherent, and elegant way. It provides a good platform from which to inspire young people and prepare them to better understand the world of tomorrow."—Marcel Fafchamps, Senior Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, Stanford University

"There are few textbooks in development economics that are both fully modern and fully accessible to the introductory student. Essentials of Development Economics is just such a textbook. It provides students access to the most contemporary ideas such as experimentation while simultaneously engaging students with a compelling synthesis of the most broad, historical, and important ideas that have emerged in the field."—Bruce Wydick, Professor of Economics, University of San Francisco

"Taylor and Lybbert have done it again: the third edition of Essentials of Development Economics expertly covers the key topics and approaches in our dynamic field, weaving in the most exciting new research breakthroughs. This textbook will enrich any course."—Edward Miguel, Oxfam Professor in Environmental and Resource Economics, Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley

"J. Edward Taylor and Travis J. Lybbert respond in this book to the profession’s call for seeking answers to the big questions in development. They do so in the most admirable and convincing manner, exploring the work development economists actually do. Their essentials are indeed essential for any student of development."—Finn Tarp, Professor of Development Economics, University of Copenhagen

"This new text provides an accessible introduction to development economics. It is essential to understanding how three-quarters of the global population live. The authors touch on key current research topics while also covering the history of thought on the topic. An outstanding volume!"––Christopher B. Barrett, S.B. & J.G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics, Cornell University

Written to provide students with the critical tools and approaches used by development economists, Essentials of Development Economics represents an alternative approach to traditional textbooks on the subject. Compact and less expensive than other textbooks for undergraduate development economics courses, Essentials of Development Economics offers a broad overview of key topics and methods in the field. Its fourteen easy-to-read chapters introduce cutting-edge research and present best practices and state-of-the-art methods. By mastering the material in this time-tested book, students will have the conceptual grounding needed to move on to more advanced development economics courses.

This new edition includes:

• updated references to international development policy process and goals
• substantial updates to several chapters with new and revised material to make the text both current and policy relevant
• replacement of several special features with new ones featuring widely cited studies