The Economic Sociology of Development

Bringing the study of international inequality back into the core of sociological theory, this book offers a user-friendly introduction to development and underdevelopment. In doing so, it places various approaches to the definition, measurement, and understanding of “development” against the backdrop of broader sociological debates.

Schrank draws concrete examples from different regions and epochs to explore sociological thinking about development and underdevelopment informed by the latest currents in economic sociology. Across a series of chapters, he identifies relationships between mainstream and Marxist approaches to the study of international inequality; uses classical and contemporary social theory to develop a parsimonious typology of national development outcomes; addresses cross-border learning and diffusion in light of the latest developments in organization theory; considers the roles of religious, racial, and gender identities in the development process in different places and times; and portrays contemporary global challenges ‒ such as populism, pandemics, and climate change ‒ as distinctly sociological problems in need of multifaceted solutions.

Enriched with expository figures, tables, and diagrams, this accessible book simultaneously distills and develops the sociological approach to the study of development and underdevelopment for both undergraduate and graduate students across the social sciences. Acknowledgments

Preface: The Scope of this Book

Notes

1 Introduction

The classical sociology of development

Beyond single-bullet theories of development and underdevelopment

Interdisciplinary development studies in the mid-twentieth century

The birth of the Washington Consensus and the rise of “DIY sociology”

Notes

2 What Do We Mean by “Development?”

The traditional approach to development: the production of commodities

Beyond the traditional approach: development as freedom

Reactivity in Rwanda: the social construction of development indicators

Are GDP per capita and the HDI redundant?

From cross-national inequality to interpersonal inequality in global context

What is middle about the “global” middle class?

The nature of international inequality

A classification of development concepts

Conclusion

Notes

3 Is International Inequality Gradational or Relational?

Modernization theory

The neo-Marxist alternative

Toward a resolution?

Conclusion

Notes

4 Explaining National Mobility in the Cold War Era

From agrarian to industrial society

Industrialization via central planning

Industrialization through infant industry protection

The East Asian debate in the late twentieth century

From the World Bank to Weber and beyond

The developmental state in Northeast Asia

Populist societies in the developing world

The high human developers: exceptions that prove the rule?

A typology of late developing societies

Conclusion

Notes

5 The Diffusion and Demise of Free-Market Reform in the Post-Cold War Era

The Washington Consensus revisited

Economic rationality and beyond

Drivers of isomorphism

The limits to neoliberalism

The origin of institutions

Toward a contrarian alternative

Conclusion

Notes

6 What If Sociologists Were in Charge?

From grand theory to the middle range

Beyond the middle range

Moving toward the future

Notes

References

Index

“Conventional economic and sociological explanations portray development as a struggle pitting people and countries against one another. Schrank pushes them aside to craft a fresh analysis of the structure and dynamics of the international economy and national development strategies. This accessible, erudite book stresses that development is both a sociocultural process and an economic and political one, showing students and scholars how future prospects for development can be viewed differently. An exciting contribution.”
Woody Powell, Stanford University

“Andrew Schrank surveys a kaleidoscope of influential concepts and theories while persuasively arguing for a distinctive economic sociology of development. This thorough, accessible book will be a valuable addition to both graduate and undergraduate courses, generating many stimulating class discussions.”
Sarah Babb, Boston College

Andrew Schrank is the Olive C. Watson Professor of Sociology and International and Public Affairs at Brown University