The Flexible Economy is the first volume to explicitly address the nature and determinants of economic adaptability. This multidisciplinary collection of specially commissioned papers explores the subject from a wide variety of perspectives. Conceptual papers discuss treatment of the topic in economic theory and in the literature on economic development. There are case studies of Africa, East Asia, and Eastern Europe and a comparative study of responses to oil shocks. Separate chapters examine the topic as it relates to the industrial and financial sectors and the political determinants of economic flexibility. The final chapter draws general conclusions.
| List of illustrations | ||
| Notes on contributors | ||
| Foreword | ||
| Preface | ||
| 1 | Relevance, Meaning and Determinants of Flexibility | 1 |
| 2 | Flexibility and Long-Term Economic Development | 34 |
| 3 | Flexibility in Economic Theory | 64 |
| 4 | Economic Adaptability in the Long Term | 79 |
| 5 | Adapting the Economies of Eastern Europe: Behavioural and Institutional Aspects of Flexibility | 111 |
| 6 | Economic Inflexibility in Africa: Evidence and Causes | 154 |
| 7 | Explaining 'Flexible Rigidities' in East Asia | 197 |
| 8 | A Comparative Study of Flexibility in the Response of National Economies to the Oil-Price Shocks | 222 |
| 9 | Industrial Adaptation and Technological Capabilities in Developing Countries | 257 |
| 10 | Flexibility in Finance | 297 |
| 11 | The Political Determinants of Economic Flexibility, with Special Reference to the East Asian NICS | 325 |
| 12 | Conclusions: Economic Flexibility, Progress and Policies | 365 |
| Name index | 395 | |
| Subject index | 401 |
Overview
The Flexible Economy is the first volume to explicitly ...