How Does My Country Grow?: Economic Advice Through Story-Telling

by Brian Pinto

Overview

Written by a former World Bank economist, How Does My Country Grow? distils growth policy lessons from the author's first-hand experience in Poland, Kenya, India, and Russia, and his contributions to the economic policy debates that followed the emerging market crises of 1997 to 2001, extending up to the global financial crisis of 2008-09. Based on living and working in the field, the author argues that country economic analysis is in effect a separate, integrative branch of economics that draws upon but is distinct from academic economics. The country stories recounted, reinforced by the emerging market experience since the 1980s, point to a canonical growth policy package built around three interconnected elements: the intertemporal budget constraint of the government; the micropolicy trio of hard budgets, competition and competitive real exchange rates; and managing volatility from external, but especially domestic, sources. This package is underpinned by good governance, which finds its most immediate expression in the management of the public finances. While the discussion is tilted towards developing countries, the insights have considerable relevance for advanced economies, many of which today are in the throes of their own growth-cum-sovereign debt crises.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191024108
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	09/18/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Brian Pinto is Chief Economist, Emerging Markets, at GLG Partners LP. Previously, he worked at the World Bank for almost 30 years, where his focus was predominantly on transition economics, sovereign debt, and economic growth. He lived in Poland at the start of its momentous reforms (1990-92) as well as in Russia, witnessing first-hand its 1998 crisis and subsequent recovery (1998-2001). His publications, inspired by live country experiences, have appeared in the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, the Economic Journal, Journal of International Economics, The Review of Economic Studies, and other professional journals. A book he edited jointly with Joshua Aizenman, Managing Economic Volatility and Crises: A Practitioner's Guide, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2005. Brian holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and degrees from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and Loyola College, Madras University, India.

Table of Contents

1. Country Economics is Different
Part One: What Do We Tell Policymakers About Growth?
2. Growth Theory from the Prism of Policy
3. In Search of a Growth Policy Package
Part Two: Country Stories
4. Why Poland Beat the Odds
5. Kenya's Achilles' Heel
6. India's Unanticipated Growth Take-off
7. Russia Rewrites the Book
Part Three: Policy Debates and Lessons
8. Emerging market Crises of the Last Decade: A Watershed
9. Self-Insurance and Self-Financed Growth
10. Lessons for Low-Income Countries
Annexes
1. Key Features of Neoclassical Growth
2. Assessing Government Debt Sustainability
3. The Russian and Argentine Debt Swaps
4. Three Generations of Crisis Models
5. The Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism (SDRM)
6. IMF's Flexible Credit Line

Editorial Reviews

"Don't be misled by the whimsical title. It's a serious, and seriously enlightening, work."

Bloomberg View

"In spite of its playful title and easy-on-readers subtitle, economist Pintos brief book is a sophisticated, engaging odyssey on economic growth and development. Laden with equations, figures, tables, boxes, annexes (appendixes), notes, and 20 pages of references and index, the book is an authoritative complement to more abstract, theoretical treatments of economic growth."

CHOICE

"Reading Brian Pinto's book, How Does My Country Grow? Economic Advice through Storytelling, is refreshing."

Economic and Political Weekly

"Pinto argues that 'country economics' is in effect a separate branch of economics. Economic theory and the 'conventional wisdom' offer only starting points. He succeeds admirably in offering insights about what drives the growth experiences of developing countries, and points out the perils of conclusions drawn hastily from afar. Understanding the linkages between a country's sovereign debt dynamics and its microfoundations of growth is the core of his investigation."

Robert J. Shiller, Arthur M. Okun Professor of Economics, Yale University, 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics

"Brian Pinto's fascinating book starts in Poland at the outset of its transition, and then continues to Russia before its 1998 financial crisis, before bringing us to India ten years after its sweeping reforms were implemented, and finally to Kenya during its improving economic performance prior to the 2007 elections. Through these countries' stories, the book revisits the recent history of developing and emerging market economies and points to the essential elements of a pragmatic growth policy package for developing countries. I strongly recommend this insightful book to researchers and policy makers interested in growth and development."

Philippe Aghion, Robert C. Waggoner Professor of Economics, Harvard University

"This is a special and rare book, which builds on Brian Pinto's deep experience. It shows how one uses theory, country knowledge, and practice, to analyze the world and make policy recommendations. It is a pleasure to read; the style is relaxed and clear, and the boxes are good."

Olivier Blanchard, Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department, IMF

"Brian Pinto brings a unique combination of passion, personality, knowledge of the latest economics research, and good common sense to his vibrant discussion of the interaction between sovereign debt and economic growth. He draws on personal experience from his work at the World Bank on Kenya, Poland, India and Russia to formulate broader policy lessons about critical issues that arise repeatedly in emerging market countries. The exposition is refreshing and insightful, and it makes the practical implications of economic research come to life. "

Gene Grossman, Jacob Viner Professor of International Economics, Princeton University

"Brian Pinto is that rare economist who is abreast of theoretical research on economic growth and has also participated in policy design and implementation during crucial periods in several countries. This account of his experiences from his long career with the World Bank will be of interest to everyone who thinks about economic growth."

Robert E. Lucas, Jr., The John Dewey Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, University of Chicago, 1995 Nobel Prize in Economics

"Brian Pinto brings country economic policy to life and shows what it means to practise it. The stories in his insightful book resonate very strongly with me as a practitioner on the ground. His analysis of the linkages between growth and sovereign debt is spot-on. Brian was one of the best economists I worked with at the World Bank—and this book is a fun read too!"

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Nigeria, and former Managing Director, The World Bank

"An engaging, well-written volume not to be missed."

A. R. Sanderson, University of Chicago

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