----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- John Henry is surely right to say that the emergence of development economics is connected to the creation of newly independent states and the process of decolonization. But his implication that the majority of development economists wanted to 'contain or defuse national liberation movements' seems implausible. I guess that the average development economist, from the 1940s on, was a bit to the left of the average for economists as a whole. (Has anyone collected any relevant evidence, I wonder?) The emphasis of much development economics was on the developmental role of the national state, and the governments of the newly independent states were a major part of the market for the products of development economics (along with aid agencies, donors, etc.). Incidentally, about the role of the siesta and the like: the success of the 'new south' in the USA is suspiciously correlated with the spread of air conditioning ... Tony Brewer ([log in to unmask]) ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]