What Professor Rodrik Means by Policy Reform: Appraising a Post-Washington Paradigm

Abstract

This article reviews Professor Dani Rodrik’s work on growth and development. The review first provides an outline of Rodrik’s critique of the Washington Consensus and his alternative ‘post-Washington’ paradigm for formulating and implementing growth strategies. The remainder of the paper then critically assesses some key elements of this alternative vision for development. In particular, the critical analysis focuses on Rodrik’s institutionalist revision of the existing growth evidence, his proposed changes to the way in which economists formulate policies in a post-Washington era, and his call for greater democratization as a universal institutional reform.