On Some Neglected Topics in Development Economics * (QUAID-I-AZAM LECTURE‪)‬

In this lecture I shall present to you a variety of topics which are typically not dealt with in textbooks of development economics and whose study, it seems to me, will advance the understanding of our subject. If there is any commonality in the topics that I choose, it lies more in the underlying method of investigation than in substance. What I hope to bring out is the importance and fruitfulness of economic theory--particularly neoclassical economic theory--in giving us insight not only into topical questions but also into the structure of the economic systems concerning which these questions are posed. In addition, I hope to emphasize what any theoretical result makes explicit; namely that it is based on assumptions and to the extent that it increases our understanding of a particular economic phenomenon, it also increases our lack of understanding of all those economic phenomena not covered by those assumptions. (1) This lecture is then meant to be partly a review, partly a programme of research, and partly a set of conjectural analogies. It is clearly not meant to be a "state of the art" summary of a particular area of development economics, as a Handbook Chapter, (2) or a detailed analysis of a particular model, or a justification and elaboration of a particular policy recommendation. I also want to make clear at the outset that by saying that a particular topic is neglected, I do not mean to assert its overriding importance in relation to other topics--simply that it also deserves study.