Abstract
The main facts of economic growth in less developed countries (LDCs) are now well known.1 From 1950 to 1980, total output grew considerably faster in LDCs, taken together, than in more developed countries (MDCs). Population grew faster in LDCs (though it is now slowing down), so the record is less impressive in terms of per-capita income, but the LDCs at least held their own in comparison with MDCs.2 Industrial output and employment grew faster than other sectors, while agriculture declined in relative importance and shed labor. Industrial exports expanded rapidly, and savings and investments as a share of GNP increased from rather low levels (typically around or below 10 percent) to levels of 20–30 percent, close to those in developed capitalist countries. Social indicators, such as life expectancy and literacy, show even more dramatic gains. Capitalist development in LDCs has been a striking success, one that hardly anyone predicted, and one that has not been as widely recognized as it should be.3
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