Catch-up Development Research Articles

Post-Communist Russia in Post-Industrial World: Elements of Catching-Up Policy

The paper discusses the strategy of economic development of Russia, which has to be developed after the end of the first stage of post-communist transition – when private economy replaced the state-controlled one and stabilization has been obtained. Russia is considered as a heavy industrialized country, which has faced the challenges of post-industrial modernization in the logic of catching-up development. This makes it different from so called ‘new industrial states’ – countries that have to resolve the task of transformation of traditional (agrarian) society to industrial one. Analysis is based on the approaches of A. Gerschenkron to ‘accelerated industrialisation’ and their adjustment to post-industrial world. The author suggests a set of economic policy principles, which could ensure sustainable economic growth and stimulate structural reforms appropriate for the new challenges, that is to stimulate transformation of industrial country to post-industrial one. This is considered as a ‘policy of catching-up post-industrialization.'

Konfliktbeladene Abhängigkeiten: Wie der chinesische Aufstieg weltwirtschaftliche Kräftekonstellationen verändert

Referring to theories of political economy, this paper analyses the People’s Republic of China as a variety of a (state-led) capitalist catch-up development process that is focused on economic and political upgrading. Despite numerous economic interdependencies as well as efforts by China’s political leadership to act as a „responsible“ power, the international and transnational embedding of the new Chinese capitalism into an unstable world system is fraught with tension.

Editorial Comment: Clinical research to optimize the Fontan concept: a long, difficult, but rewarding, journey

In this issue of the Journal, Iwai et al. [1] report on their experience in preserving maximal ventricular function after Fontan type repair for complex congenital heart disease. They show evidence that avoiding intraventricular outflow resistance by maximally incorporating every usable semilunar valve into the circuit is beneficial for long-term ventricular and atrio-ventricular valve function. Incorporating the pulmonary outflow tract in the Fontan circuit by performing a Damus–Kaye–Stansal manoeuvre is essential in patients with a proven or expected subaortic stenosis (all patients with coarctation, small aortic valve, subaortic stenosis), but also appears to be beneficial in patients without an apparent or expected gradient. Their report is another step in the process of optimising the Fontan circuit. We have come a long way since the first Fontan circulation was reported in 1971 [2]. Surgeons have learned how to avoid the cardiac factors that are deleterious to the Fontan circuit: avoid ventricular overgrowth, hypertrophy, dilation and dysfunction, excessive unloading at the time of the cavopulmonary connection and energy loss at the cavopulmonary anastomosis [3]. Some improvement is still possible, but with adequate management, it has now become rare that failure of the Fontan circuit is attributable to the surgical connection or primary cardiac dysfunction. The circulatory output—the most important determinant of a good Fontan circuit—now largely depends on the pulmonary vasculature: by connecting the pulmonary and systemic vasculature in series, the surgeon dams off the flow to the ventricle, thereby enormously limiting the preload to the ventricle to levels of 60–80% of the normal for body surface area (and even less when normalized for ventricular size in the overgrown — overstretched ventricle) [4]. Control of the circulatory output thereby shifts from the ventricle to the transpulmonary flow, which has quite different rules and kinetics! Most frequently the ventricle becomes ‘the innocent bystander’: the ventricle can squeeze no more blood than is allowed to flow through the lungs [5]. Interventions to significantly improve the Fontan circuit now need to target the pulmonary vasculature. After completion of the Fontan circuit, the pulmonary vasculature allows little modulation with low response to medication [6]; only a fenestration is efficient to augment the circulatory output by bypassing the pulmonary vasculature at the expense of arterial desaturation. Therefore, we now should focus on the growth and optimal development of the pulmonary vasculature before the Fontan surgery: the initial palliation is crucial, allowing adequate volume load for sufficient time to obtain the optimal catch-up growth and development of the pulmonary vasculature before the Glenn shunt [7]. However, these considerations should not keep us from further improving the heart itself. Assessing cardiac parameters has become increasingly difficult as we have learned that many variables depend on and interfere with each other. A ventricle in a Fontan circuit has a history: at birth it is usually well adapted, but the initial palliative state nearly always imposes a volume overload for a few months (pulmonary flow), and sometimes also an excessive pressure overload (outflow tract obstruction, residual coarctation, arterial hypertension). By the time the Glenn state removes this volume load, the ventricle has developed overgrowth, dilation and remodelling, with variable degrees of eccentric and concentric hypertrophy; many of these residua persist by the time the Fontan circuit is completed and beyond. When a ventricle is large in a Fontan circuit, our management will differ depending on whether we consider this a stretched small ventricle, or rather a collapsed underloaded but overgrown pump. Similarly, when a Fontan ventricle is hypocontractile, our management will differ depending on whether we attribute this dysfunction to a damaged burned-out ventricle, or rather to the underfilling of an overgrown chronically deprived pump. Assessing the contributions of ventricular overgrowth, dilation, hypertrophy, dysfunction due to intrinsic myopathy or due to relative underfilling (controlled by pulmonary vasculature) is extremely difficult and still beyond our comprehension. By necessity any analyses today will work with simplified and incomplete models. Iwai et al. divided their study patients into three groups [Damus–Kaye–Stansal (DKS), mild pulmonary stenosis and pulmonary atresia]; these groups are not completely comparable, which may introduce a selection bias. Patients with pulmonary valve atresia typically will have hypoplastic pulmonary arteries at birth; an aortic-pulmonary shunt will be created, causing a sudden large volume load on the ventricle; catch-up growth of the pulmonary arteries can be significant, but overall, some degree of hypoplasia or subnormal compliance will persist. In contrast, patients requiring a banding procedure typically will

The relation between institutional and cultural factors in economic development: the case of Indonesia

Abstract:This paper analyzes the relation of culture, institutions and economic development using the example of Indonesia. The success of economic catch-up development depends essentially on the interconnection between pre-existing informal constraints on the one hand and novel, imported institutions on the other. Hence culture, understood as the interplay between legal rules and non-legal constraints, has to be considered as an important determinant of economic development and growth. In order to adapt economic policies and thereby prevent institutional traps, which may otherwise hinder economic reforms, it is essential to understand culture and the ways in which different cultural factors support or constrain the functioning of formal institutional settings. Applying a cultural approach to economics in the case of Indonesia's economic development allows for the inclusion of complex cultural conditionality of economic behavior and puts special emphasis on the role of politicians as public and cultural entrepreneurs. Altogether, the example of Indonesia demonstrates once more the necessity to apply a cultural approach to the study of catch-up development in a globalized world.

What can Indonesia learn from China's industrial energy saving programs?

Even though Indonesia's CO2 emissions are dominated by deforestation while China's are dominated by industry, Indonesia has much to learn from China's industrial energy saving programs. To begin with, it is only a matter of time before Indonesia's emissions from fossil fuels overtake those from deforestation. Given the long technological lock-in effects of energy systems and industries, Indonesia needs to think now about how it will tackle this problem. There are other reasons for believing that Indonesia might learn something from China – the CO2 intensities of GDP, of industry and of cement production have been rising in Indonesia, while they are falling in China. China's better intensity performance is due to policies that Indonesia would do well to follow – adopting a technological catch-up industrial development strategy; raising energy prices to scarcity values; liberalising domestic markets and opening the economy to trade and investment; and mounting a massive energy saving program.

Догоняющее развитие: умозрительные конструкты и реалии

Response to the publication of Yu. Shishkov

США на этапе догоняющего развития

The author deals with the lessons of the period of the so-called catch-up development in the United States of America (XVIII – the beginning of XX century). The overall thrust of the social and economic progress of this relatively young nation was then determined by the aspiration to adopt technological, organizational and managerial achievements of more advanced economies of the Old World. The author stresses that without resorting to this period of the American history it is difficult to understand the reasons for the extraordinary economic and social take-off of the USA. The author examines the origins of the industrial recovery, the role of the government and the main directions of development policies at that stage. A conclusion is made that the United States succeeded in prudently managing the nation’s resources and the available incomes. By ensuring favorable conditions for life and business procedures the government greatly facilitated the creative forces and rapid economic progress.

From industrial enclaves to prototypes of the modern Chinese city: Development zones in Guangdong

Southern China’s Pearl River Delta Economic Region has been a role model for China’s transition and is one of the country’s most important economic regions. But its development model, based on abundant cheap labour resources and export-oriented manufacturing, is increasingly threatened—by the ending of the special policy treatment of the region, the shift of national economic development strategies towards catch-up development of China’s underdeveloped hinterland, increasing competition from other regions in China and South-East Asia, and rising labour costs. If the growth rates of the past are to be sustained, new development strategies are needed. New kinds of development zones are at the core of such efforts. Development zones used to be clearly defined and bounded-off industrial monocultures with nothing but factories, often of the same kind of industries. In order to move beyond labour and energy intensive manufacturing and towards an ‘upgraded’ local economy, they are increasingly converted into full-fledged urban areas, and are more and more integrated into the urban space as a whole. As such, they are believed to offer an investment environment more suitable for knowledge-intensive and high-tech industries. Administrative district/development zone hybrids such as the Guangzhou Development District and Shenzhen’s New Special Districts Guangming and Pingshan represent emerging strategies to further integrate economy and society, accommodate to emerging demands, and serve as prototypes for future urban development in China.

Why the West Became Rich Before China and Why China Has Been Catching Up with the West Since 1949: Another Explanation of the ‘Great Divergence’ and ‘Great Convergence’ Stories

The goal of this paper is to offer a non-technical interpretation of the “Great Divergence” and “Great Convergence” stories. After reviewing existing explanations in the literature, I offer a different interpretation. Western countries exited the Malthusian trap by destroying traditional institutions, which was associated with an increase in income inequality and even a decrease in life expectancy, but allowed the redistribution of income in favor of savings and investment at the expense of consumption. When the same pattern was imposed on some developing countries (colonialism – Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), Latin America (LA), and the Former Soviet Union (FSU)), it resulted in the destruction of traditional institutions, increase in income inequality, and worsening of starting positions for catch-up development. Other developing countries (East Asia (EA), South Asia (SA), and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA countries)) that were less affected by colonialism and managed to retain traditional institutions by the end of the twentieth century found themselves in a better starting position for modern economic growth. The slow-going technical progress finally allowed them to find another exit from the Malthusian trap – increased income that permitted the share of investment in GDP to rise without a major increase in income inequality or decrease in life expectancy. The roots of the impressive long-term performance of China lie in the exceptional continuity of the Chinese civilization – the oldest in the world – that managed to preserve its uniqueness and traditions without major interruptions. It is argued that institutional continuity (East Asia, India, and MENA) is more conducive to growth than attempts to replace existing institutions by allegedly more advanced institutions imported from abroad (Latin America, FSU, and SSA). Like Russia in 1917, China re-established collectivist institutions in 1949 as a response to the failure of Westernization. Unlike Russia after 1991, China in 1979-2009 managed to preserve “Asian values” institutions – priority of community interests over the interests of the individual. However, the rapid increase in income inequality since 1985 could be a sign of weakening of collectivist institutions, which is the single most important threat to the continuation of fast economic growth.

Development Theories and Development Experience: Half a Century Journey

This paper examines the impact that development theories have had on development policies, and the inverse impact of actual successes and failures in the global South on development thinking. It is argued that development thinking is at the cross-roads. Development theories in postwar period went through a full circle – from Big Push and ISI to neo-liberal Washington consensus to the understanding that neither the former, nor the later really works in engineering successful catch-up development. Meanwhile, economic miracles were manufactured in East Asia without much reliance on development thinking and theoretical background – just by experimentation of the strong hand politicians.

Technical progress and its factors in Russia’s economy

In this paper long-term growth in Russia?s economy is viewed in the context of technical progress, based on both neoclassical and endogenous theories. The dynamics of economic growth with some aspects of catch-up development are examined, as well as capital deepening. TFP is quantified in terms of both output and productivity increases to reveal the leading role of embodied technical progress in productivity growth. An endogenous growth model helped to discern three complex factors of technical progress in the Russian economy, to which at the macro level a factor related to natural wealth (oil and gas resources) was added. This enabled the author to conclude that the most important macroeconomic factor of Russia?s technical progress in the half century from the early 1960s to the late 2000s was its immobile component. At the manufacturing level the situation was more complicated, as the initial leadership of creative technical progress was superseded by the dominance of the mobile factor. The collapse of the Soviet Union made the Russian economy more service-oriented and radically changed the conditions of economic modernization, in which technology transfer ensured by FDI began to play a more prominent part, particularly after the default of 1998.

An Historical Materialist Appraisal of Friedrich List and his Modern-Day Followers

The purpose of this article is to discuss catch-up development as it has been conceptualised by writers operating within the Listian framework. The rationale for this is that combating global poverty and achieving sustainable economic growth is at the centre of most debates on development in the global south. However, at present anti-poverty strategies are pursued within a broad neoliberal framework, despite the fact that increasing numbers of the world’s population (lay and academic) perceive neoliberalism to be extremely damaging for the world’s poor (cf. Weisbrot et al. 2001). In strong opposition to neoliberal development strategy stands a body of thought that is growing in popularity (at least within the academy and some policy circles) and draws on Friedrich List’s original critique of the British liberal economists Adam Smith and David Ricardo. This article suggests that neo-Listian development economics does offer realistic and achievable catch-up policies to elites in developing countries. However, by drawing on and extending Marx’s original critique of List, this article also argues that while such policies may achieve faster rates of capital accumulation than neoliberal policies, they do not necessarily serve the interests of the larger part of the populations of late developing countries, as their proponents claim. It argues, further, that for such policies to be applied in ways that do benefit the world’s poor, they need to be integrated into what is conceptualised here as social development, and should be conceptualised not as policies to stabilise capitalism in the long term, but as part of a movement towards socialising the economy under democratic control.

Children with developmental language delay at 24 months of age: results of a diagnostic work‐up

The aim of this study was to evaluate if a diagnostic work-up should be recommended for 2-year-old children with developmental language delay (LD), or if the widely chosen 'wait and see' strategy is adequate. Children with LD were identified in paediatric practices during routine developmental check-ups using a German parent-report screening questionnaire (adapted from the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories). A standardized German instrument and the Netherlands version of Bayley Scales of Infant Development (2nd ed.) were used to assess language ability and nonverbal cognitive development respectively in 100 children with LD (65 males, 35 females; mean age 24.7 mo [SD 0.9]) and a control group of 53 children with normal language development (33 males, 20 females; mean age 24.6 mo [SD 0.8]). Neurological and audiometric testing were also performed. Sixty-one per cent of the LD group had specific expressive LD and 17% specific receptive-expressive LD. In 22%, LD was associated with other neurodevelopmental problems, 6% showed significant deficits in nonverbal cognitive abilities, and in 12%, nonverbal cognitive abilities were borderline. Four per cent fulfilled the criteria of childhood autism. LD at 2 years proved to represent a sensitive marker for different developmental problems. Adequate early intervention requires a clear distinction between specific expressive or receptive-expressive LD and LD associated with other neurodevelopmental problems. Though catch-up development is to be expected in a substantial proportion of 'late talkers', our data demonstrate that a general 'wait and see' approach is not justified in young children with LD. A proposal for a rational diagnostic work-up is presented.

“Затерянный Мир”, Или о Деколонизации Российских Общественных Наук

SUMMARY: Aleksei Penzin invokes the concepts of modernization and catch-up development in order to describe the post-Soviet perception of relations between Russia and the West in general and the situation of humanities and social sciences in particular. He then discusses the revisions of “modernization” theory within world-system analysis and postcolonial studies. While he traces elements of a current orientalization of Russia by the West, he focuses on the more complicated issues of self-orientalization by Russian scholars and on their compensatory postcolonial behavior, which corresponds to outside expectations or supports local tendencies toward isolationism and “sovereign” democracy and nationalism. Penzin describes the local situation in Russian academia as impenetratable for foreign observers due to the lack of conventional language for discourse and the strong role played by stereotypes and orientalizing discourses. In this regard the language of Marxism was a more adequate medium for international academic discourse. Penzin calls for the acceptance of a more multipolar view of the world that will not impose the core–periphery hegemonic vision.

Bulgarian strengths and weaknesses on the verge of the EU accession

The article argues for the necessity of catch-up economic development in Bulgaria over the next years and decades. Characteristics of normal and accelerated catch-up development and their driving forces are given. 15 strengths on the verge of the EU accession, along with more than 40 weaknesses are identified and briefly characterized in economic terms. Some suggestions for future policies regarding most of the weaknesses are made. The article demonstrates that the weaknesses of the Bulgarian economy have been accumulated for many decades and that it is not dully prepared for proper EU accession. However, the article supports the accession and proves that there is no alternative to the EU accession and the catch-up development. Unrolling the two processes in parallel corresponds in the best way to Bulgarian vital national interests.

Impact of Epilepsy Surgery on Developing Minds: How do we Weigh the Consequences?

Cognitive Function in Preschool Children after Epilepsy Surgery: Rationale for Early Intervention Freitag H, Tuxhorn I Epilepsia 2005;46(4):561–567 Purpose The detrimental effect of frequent early seizures on the cognitive potential of children is a significant clinical issue. Epilepsy surgery in childhood offers a good prognosis for seizure control and improved developmental outcome. We studied the postoperative outcome and the developmental velocity after surgery and analyzed risk factors for developmental delay in 50 consecutive preschool children treated surgically for severe epilepsy at ages 3 to 7 years. Methods Pre- and postoperative developmental quotients (DQs) were analyzed with analysis of variance; step-wise linear regressions were performed on preoperative DQs and on a difference score between post- and preoperative DQs to determine risk factors for preoperative development and factors influencing postoperative development. Results Of the 50 patients, 70% were retarded, with IQ <70; 16% were of average intelligence, with IQ ranging from 85 to 115. Age at seizure onset and extent of lesion were predictive variables for preoperative cognitive development. Six to 12 months after surgery (early postoperative phase), 66% were seizure free (Engel outcome class I), 26% had substantial to worthwhile seizure reduction (classes II and III), and 8% were unchanged (class IV). Forty-one (82%) children showed stable velocity of development; three children showed gains of 15 IQ points; three had developmental decline (loss of 10 IQ points), which was transient in two children; and three children moved from not assessable to assessable. At last follow-up (6 months to 10 years after surgery), 11 children showed IQ/DQ gains of 15 IQ points. Gains in IQ were observed only in seizure-free children and were stable over time. Shorter duration of epilepsy was significantly associated with a postoperative increase in DQ. Conclusions (a) Substantial global mental delay is common in young children treated for epilepsy with surgery; (b) in most patients, postoperative development proceeded at a stable velocity; (c) catch-up development may occur but only in seizure-free patients; (d) substantial cognitive losses were noted in only one child; and (e) early seizure control stabilized developmental velocity in this patient cohort.

Cognitive Function in Preschool Children after Epilepsy Surgery: Rationale for Early Intervention

The detrimental effect of frequent early seizures on the cognitive potential of children is a significant clinical issue. Epilepsy surgery in childhood offers a good prognosis for seizure control and improved developmental outcome. We studied the postoperative outcome and the developmental velocity after surgery and analyzed risk factors for developmental delay in 50 consecutive preschool children treated surgically for severe epilepsy at ages 3 to 7 years. Pre- and postoperative developmental quotients (DQs) were analyzed with analysis of variance; stepwise linear regressions were performed on preoperative DQs and on a difference score between post- and preoperative DQs to determine risk factors for preoperative development and factors influencing postoperative development. Of the 50 patients, 70% were retarded, with IQ < 70; 16% were of average intelligence, with IQ ranging from 85 to 115. Age at seizure onset and extent of lesion were predictive variables for preoperative cognitive development. Six to 12 months after surgery (early postoperative phase), 66% were seizure free (Engel outcome class I), 26% had substantial to worthwhile seizure reduction (classes II and III), and 8% were unchanged (class IV). Forty-one (82%) children showed stable velocity of development; three children showed gains of >/=15 IQ points; three had developmental decline (loss of >/=10 IQ points), which was transient in two children; and three children moved from not assessable to assessable. At last follow-up (6 months to 10 years after surgery), 11 children showed IQ/DQ gains of >/=15 IQ points. Gains in IQ were observed only in seizure-free children and were stable over time. Shorter duration of epilepsy was significantly associated with a postoperative increase in DQ. (a) Substantial global mental delay is common in young children treated for epilepsy with surgery; (b) In most patients, postoperative development proceeded at a stable velocity; (c) Catch-up development may occur but only in seizure-free patients; (d) Substantial cognitive losses were noted in only one child. and (e) Early seizure control stabilized developmental velocity in this patient cohort.

Marxism: Between the Scientific Theory and "Secular Religion" (Liberal Apologia)

Marxist concept of social development is analyzed on the basis of the twentieth century experience in the article. Theory of history is considered as the most important component of Marxism which contributes to the understanding of moderns historical trends, and especially the challenges of catching-up development. Authors explain renaissance of economic liberalism through the prism of Marxism and discuss the development of methodological tradition called "liberal Marxism".

Shared Mental Models, Catch-up Development and Economic Policy-Making: The Case of Germany after World War II and Its Significance for Contemporary Russia

The paper deals with the connection between politically induced catch-up development, cultural and intellectual traditions and economic order in Germany and Russia. It is argued that in the history of both countries we encounter significant structural parallels, including the totalitarian experience. After World War II the German political elite managed to implement capitalism in a country, the population of which was still hostile towards capitalism. The key to success was that the German political rulers, in contrast to the Russian 'young reformers' of the early 1990s, from the beginning on took into account the shared mental models prevailing in Germany. Therefore some lessons may be drawn from the German historical experience in regard to today's Russia.

Post-communist Russia in the Post-industrial World: The Quest for Catching-up Policy

This article discusses the strategy of economic development of Russia, which has to be developed after the end of the first stage of post-communist transition--when the private economy replaced the state-controlled one and stabilisation was achieved. Russia is considered to be a heavily industrialised country, which has faced the challenges of post-industrial modernisation in the logic of catching-up development. This makes it different from so-called 'new industrial states'--countries that have to resolve the task of transformation of a traditional (agrarian) society to an industrial one. The analysis is based on Gerschenkron's approach to 'accelerated industrialisation' and its adjustment to the post-industrial world. The author suggests a set of economic policy principles which could ensure sustainable economic growth and stimulate structural reforms appropriate for the new challenges, that is to stimulate transformation of an industrial country to a post-industrial one. This is considered as a 'policy of catching-up post-industrialisation'.