Alice Amsden
Encyclopedia
Alice Amsden is researcher in the field of heterodox political economy
. She is currently the Barton L. Weller Professor of Political Economics at MIT, in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and Researcher at MIT Center for International Studies
Amsden received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University
and her PhD from the London School of Economics
. Professor Amsden began her career as an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) and taught at University of California, Los Angeles
, Barnard College
at Columbia University
, Harvard Business School
and The New School
before being appointed professor at MIT in 1994. In addition to teaching and writing, she has been a consultant to the World Bank
, OECD and various organizations within the United Nations
. In 2002, she was awarded the Leontief Prize by the Global Development and Environment Institute
and was named one of the top 50 visionaries by Scientific American for her premise that one-size-fits-all economic policies are ill-suited for poor countries looking to become industrialized. In 2009, she was appointed by the United Nations secretary-general to a 3-year seat on the U.N. Committee on Development Policy, a subsidiary of the U.N. Economic and Social Council. The 24-member committee provides inputs and independent advice to the council on emerging cross-sectoral development issues and on international cooperation for development.
Amsden has written several books about the industrialization of developing countries. She emphasizes the importance of state as a facilitator and guide of economic development. She also sees knowledge
as a crucial determinant of economic growth. Her books include Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialisation
and The Rise of the Rest. In the former she concentrates on the development of South Korea and in the latter she compares the experiences of several developing countries - mostly East Asian and Latin American countries.
Escape from Empire: The Developing World's Journey through Heaven and Hell, MIT Press, 2007.
Beyond Late Development: Taiwan's Upgrading Policies , MIT Press, 2003,
(with Wan Wen Chu).
The Rise of "The Rest": Challenges to the West From Late-Industrializing Economies, Oxford University Press, 2001.
The Market Meets Its Match: Restructuring the Economies of Eastern
Europe, Harvard University Press,1994 (with Jacek Kochanowicz and Lance Taylor).
Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization, Oxford
University Press, 1989. Awarded "Best Book in Political Economy," American Political Science
Association, 1992.
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
. She is currently the Barton L. Weller Professor of Political Economics at MIT, in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and Researcher at MIT Center for International Studies
MIT Center for International Studies
MIT Center for International Studies , founded in 1952, conducts research and teaching in a wide range of international subjects, among them international relations, international migration, human rights and justice, and political economy and technology policy...
Amsden received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and her PhD from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. Professor Amsden began her career as an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
(OECD) and taught at University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
and The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
before being appointed professor at MIT in 1994. In addition to teaching and writing, she has been a consultant to the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, OECD and various organizations within the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. In 2002, she was awarded the Leontief Prize by the Global Development and Environment Institute
Global Development and Environment Institute
The Global Development And Environment Institute is a research center at Tufts University founded in 1993. GDAE works to promote a better understanding of how societies can pursue their economic and community goals in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner...
and was named one of the top 50 visionaries by Scientific American for her premise that one-size-fits-all economic policies are ill-suited for poor countries looking to become industrialized. In 2009, she was appointed by the United Nations secretary-general to a 3-year seat on the U.N. Committee on Development Policy, a subsidiary of the U.N. Economic and Social Council. The 24-member committee provides inputs and independent advice to the council on emerging cross-sectoral development issues and on international cooperation for development.
Amsden has written several books about the industrialization of developing countries. She emphasizes the importance of state as a facilitator and guide of economic development. She also sees knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
as a crucial determinant of economic growth. Her books include Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialisation
Late Industrialisation
Alice Amsden, building on the insights of Gerschenkron, identifies Late Industrialization as a particular form of industrialisation the study of which is useful for those interested in study of the prospects for material progress in developing countries...
and The Rise of the Rest. In the former she concentrates on the development of South Korea and in the latter she compares the experiences of several developing countries - mostly East Asian and Latin American countries.
Books
In addition to numerous journal articles, Professor Amsden has authoredEscape from Empire: The Developing World's Journey through Heaven and Hell, MIT Press, 2007.
Beyond Late Development: Taiwan's Upgrading Policies , MIT Press, 2003,
(with Wan Wen Chu).
The Rise of "The Rest": Challenges to the West From Late-Industrializing Economies, Oxford University Press, 2001.
The Market Meets Its Match: Restructuring the Economies of Eastern
Europe, Harvard University Press,1994 (with Jacek Kochanowicz and Lance Taylor).
Asia's Next Giant: South Korea and Late Industrialization, Oxford
University Press, 1989. Awarded "Best Book in Political Economy," American Political Science
Association, 1992.
External links
- Alice Amsden at Department of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT
- Column archive at The NationThe NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...