Development in Unity Volume 3: Compendium of Works of Daasebre Professor (Emeritus) Oti Boateng

By Daasebre Prof. (Emeritus) Oti Boateng

This Volume, a scholarly piece of development thoughts, discusses in Part One the new concept of development embracing a much more inclusive view of increasing the welfare of societies followed by a critical examination of the various development theories and practices that underpinned the global development order over the greater part of the 20th century in both classic and contemporary contexts. It then discusses the unique contribution of the author’s award-winning Root-based Model to the development process

The Root-based Model provides a desirable bridge between the dominant growth-concentrated development pattern and the alternative development paradigm. In addition to it’s institutional networking dynamics utilizing the power of shared information for sustainable community development, the model resolves the critical issue of integrating the citizens sector into the national development process through a genuine participatory approach.

Part Two encapsulates various research works and papers over the years by the author that keep resonating on the development landscape and illuminate much of the discussions in Part One.

The book urges developing countries to adopt solutions suited to their cultures and local constraints instead of importing ‘best practices’ which may not fit into the key policy issues of development in the local context.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Africa
• Release date: Jan 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781482878547

Daasebre Prof. (Emeritus) Oti Boateng

The author, a renowned African Traditional Ruler, a global authority in Statistics, a United Nations Commissioner and recipient of several national and international awards including a recognition as one of the greatest minds of the 21st century, seeks to revolutionize development thinking and inspire a new development order.

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DEDICATION

This Book is Dedicated to All Nations University and the Chiefs and People of New Juaben Traditional State.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Daasebre Professor (Emeritus) Emmanuel Oti Boateng is an Emeritus Professor of Statistics, Chancellor of All Nations University, United Nations Commissioner on the International Civil Service Commission and a traditional ruler of the New Juaben State of Ghana with the royal title of Daasebre which means His Benevolence.

He held the high office of Government Statistician of Ghana, a position he occupied with distinction for a record period of nearly eighteen years (1982 – 2000).

Daasebre holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science with honours in Economics from the University of Ghana, Master of Science in Statistics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Philosophy Doctorate in Statistics from University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.

He has over ninety technical publications to his credit in the areas of statistics, computing, governance, economics, population, culture and policy issues.

His work experience began in 1963 with the Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, and then with the Boston Edison Company in Boston, USA, in 1966.

As Government Statistician, Daasebre rebuilt the Ghana Statistical Service to an enviable position as one of the best in Africa, co-ordinating and supervising the production of over 350 statistical publications which informed important national policy decisions. He successfully conducted the 1984 Population Census of Ghana during a period of difficult economic conditions.

Daasebre was a member of the United Nations Statistical Commission from 1983 to 1998 and became the first African to be elected as Chairman of the Commission in 1987. In January 1993, Daasebre was also elected the first African Chairman of the International Conference of Labour Statisticians at its 15th Session in Geneva, Switzerland.

As Traditional Ruler, he combines the dual roles of administration and adjudication; mobilizing his people for development and settling disputes among them, chairing and sitting on various Judicial Committees at regional and national levels. Daasebre has remarkably strengthened the New Juaben Traditional Council as a local institution for the prosperity of the people.

Daasebre has served on a number of important national bodies including the Council of State (1993-1997), National House of Chiefs (1993-2016), National Development Planning Commission (1993 – 2000), the National Population Council (2002 – 2009), the Volta River Authority Board (2001 – 2007), Community Water and Sanitation Agency (2006 - 2010), National Judiciary Review Committee on Traditional Adjudication (2010 – 2011) and the Ghana Aids Commission (2009-2016)

He served as a member of the Constituent Assembly from 1978 to 1979, contributing significantly not only to the drafting of the 1979 Republican Constitution but also succeeding in getting his recommendation for the establishment of an autonomous Ghana Statistical Service accepted by the Assembly which eventually led to the promulgation of an autonomous Statistical Service Law of 1985 (PNDCL 135).

For sixteen years (1983-1999), Daasebre was a member of the National Tripartite Committee for the negotiation of national minimum wages and other conditions of employment and served as Chairman of its Technical Subcommittee for the period.

Daasebre has been a Commissioner of the United Nations International Civil Service Commission since 2003 and has made significant contributions to the Commission’s deliberations including the review and rationalization of the common system allowances and benefits, post adjustment issues, performance appraisal and management, issues on diversity including gender balance and base floor salary scale. Before this appointment, Daasebre served on the Commission’s Advisory Committee on Post Adjustment Questions (ACPAQ) for a period of ten years(1993 – 2003).

On 23rd September 2003, the All Nations University in Koforidua conferred on Daasebre the distinguished title of Professor (Emeritus) of Statistics.

Daasebre earned the recognition of the International Leaders in Achievement, published by the International Biographical Centre (IBC) in Cambridge, England, in 1988 for his excellent academic achievement and experience in the field of statistics. He has also been appointed to the renowned position of Honourary Director General of the IBC.

From 1969 to 1982, he was appointed a Senior Research Fellow and Director of Studies at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, where he lectured in statistics, economics, data processing and computer programming in addition to his research work and publications thereof. In June 2007, he was honoured with the Distinguished Service Award by the Economics Department of the University of Ghana for his outstanding contributions to the teaching and practice of Statistics.

In July 2008, Daasebre received the National Award of the Order of the Volta (Civil Division) for his public service and traditional leadership. On 31st July 2008, he received the Key to the City of Rochester in New York State, USA, from Mayor Robert J. Duffy in recognition of his promotion of twin sister-city relations.

Daasebre is the author of the book titled Barack Obama – Africa’s Gift To The World written in July 2009 to commemorate the historic visit of President Barack Obama, the first African-American President, to Ghana and Africa.

On Saturday 21st August 2010, Daasebre was conferred as Vice-Chancellor of the World Academy of Letters within the Halls of St. John’s College, Cambridge University, England, at the 2010 World Forum.

In March 2012, Daasebre was among a seven-member United Nations Commissioners’ mission to war-torn Afghanistan to interact with the UN personnel with a view to improving their general welfare and boosting their morale. Daasebre took part in similar UN missions carried out in 2008 in the then conflict areas of Liberia and La Côte d’Ivoire.

On Tuesday December 17, 2013, Daasebre was honoured with the conferment of the topmost award of Distinguished Fellow (DF) by the Distinguished Scholars of Africa in recognition of his unparalleled exploits in academia, international civil service and cultural activism in Africa

On 14th May, 2016, the State University of New York honoured Daasebre with an award of Doctor of Laws as a 21st century leader with a citation specifically mentioning his design of an economic development model based on indigenous institutions and sustainable systems.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Statistical Commission, Daasebre was honoured with 32 other distinguished statisticians for guiding the work of the Commission with zeal and pride during the preceding seven decades.

Daasebre Prof. (Emeritus) Oti Boateng is the author of Development in Unity Volumes One and Two, a compendium of his research works and exploits for over forty years, written to inspire a new generational philosophy of development. Volume Two embodies the award-winning Root-based Model for Sustainable Community Development which places communities at the center of the development process as dignified agents of their own development.

Daasebre institutionalized the first traditional festival in Post-Independence Ghana – the Akwantukese or the Great Migration – which brings into contemporary prominence a missing but critical and major event of Asante history in Ghana.

In February 2018, Daasebre published a book titled AKWANTUKESE Festival 2017 to preserve the memory of the 2017 Akwantukese Festival which marked the 20th anniversary of the Festival and the 25th anniversary of Daasebre’s enstoolment as the Omanhene (Paramount Chief) of New Juaben State. The 150-page book immortalizes the Akwantukese Festival by revealing its significance and providing nuanced details of the festival activities.

Daasebre has developed a creative and practical solution to the process of empowering women in his paper titled Ensuring the Central Role of Women in Development published in the International Journal of Gender and Women’s Studies, December 2016. Volume 4 Issue 2. He is now working on the theoretical underpinnings for this model.

As Chancellor of All Nations University, Daasebre has laid a visionary leadership foundation to anchor the University as a global centre of excellence in his indigenous traditional state with the University’s remarkable feat of pioneering the first Ghana satellite, GhanaSat1, into space in July 2017.

PREFACE

This is the third and final Volume of Development in Unity series that cover my research works and other exploits spanning over four decades aimed at inspiring a new inter- generational philosophy of development.

Part One of this volume provides perspectives in development theory and practices with special consideration on regions of growing economies. It begins with a discussion of the new concept of development which goes well beyond the previously limited view of accumulation of wealth and growth of gross national income and other income related variables to embrace a much more inclusive concept of increasing the welfare of societies. It also discusses the UNDP’s Human Development Index which, for over the past quarter of a century, had provided a credible and improved measuring instrument for human well-being, tremendously influenced the development dialogue and presented a useful basis for informed key policy decisions.

This is followed by a critical examination of various development theories and practices that underpinned the global development order over the greater part of the 20th century in both classic and contemporary contexts to establish the basis for a new development hypothesis germane to regions of growing economies.

The open-ended debate in development thinking is replaced by the award-winning root-based model as the footprint providing the missing chain and a bridge between the dominant growth concentrated pattern of development and an alternative development paradigm which dominated the development landscape in the late 1970’s. In addition to it’s institutional networking dynamics utilizing the power of shared information for sustainable community development, the root-based model resolves the critical issue of integrating the citizens sector into the national development process through a genuine participatory approach.

The book debunks the one-size-fits-all view of development and maintains that successful development requires a skillful and judicious balancing of market pricing and promotion where markets can exist and operate efficiently, along with intelligent and equity oriented government intervention in areas where unquestionable market forces would lead to undesirable economic and social consequences.

It, therefore, stresses that developing countries need to adopt local solutions suited to their cultures and local constraints urging development practitioners and non-governmental organizations to assess each individual country’s situation on a case by case basis before recommending the appropriate solutions. It again advises them to distinguish between textbook theories and contemporary institutional and political realities of developing countries to be able to choose which of the concepts and models can best illuminate the key policy issues and dilemmas of development

Part Two of this volume encapsulates various research works and papers over the years by the author which contribute to development and illuminate much of the discussions in Part One.

These research works introduce and emphasize a range of issues which continue to reverberate on the development landscape and which we ignore to the detriment of holistic and sustainable development.

The research on Global Coalition for Africa: Building Information and Statistical Systems for Development, an unpublished work by the author undertaken while serving as a Consultant in the World Bank, provides a broad action programme for strengthening the statistical and information systems as a critical element in a strategy for ensuring adequate, timely and reliable data needed for decision making to meet the serious development challenges facing the continent. It delineates specific and collaborative roles for both national governments and donor communities to enhance efficient delivery of assistance emphasizing the need to establish dialogue with users and embark on programmes that are demand driven.

Analysis of the causes, consequences and possible remedies of inflation in Ghana indicates that a combination of demand-pull and cost-push as well as structural factors underline the inflationary pressures which have bedeviled national development since the early 1960’s particularly in areas of Government budget deficit financing, balance of payments crisis, increased money supply, wage and salary increases and low level of productivity in the agricultural sector.

The research report on Housing Conditions and Utilization of Health Services: A Study of the Population of Achimota Village, Adabraka and Tesano Areas in Accra, which examines the nature of the relationship between housing types and health care utilization, concludes that in communities where people lived in good houses, clean environment and were aware of disease causing organisms, the frequency of visiting hospitals and clinics was low whereas in communities of poor environmental conditions in which the houses were substandard and occupied by people with little knowledge about the germ theory of disease causation, the frequency of visiting hospitals and clinics was higher.

The paper on the 2016 Ghana Elections - Issues With the Voter Turnout which addresses some pertinent issues of the voter turnout, a critical determinant of credible electoral outcomes to ensure stability and smooth development in a democratic environment, deduces from the accepted methodology that until all the votes cast in an election for the whole country are collated and factored into the calculation, a voter turnout result for the entire country cannot be declared.

The paper on Ensuring the Central Role of Women in Development, published also by the International Journal on Gender and Women Studies, presents a practical and creative process of empowering women as key to ensuring their full participation in the development process utilizing the award-winning root-based sustainable development model to establish independent Community Women Organizations throughout the country which are interlinked by the model’s networking mechanism to share ideas and experiences to promote women’s empowerment. The strategy further ensures that women are empowered and well equipped for leadership and other strategic positions at the community, national and international levels using a newly developed four-phased empowering process encompassing awareness-creation, education, skills development and entrepreneurship as well as Women in Leadership.

The Weija Dam Project: An Evaluation Study of Water Utilization Behaviour and its Related Socio-economic Impact was commissioned by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to ascertain from the project the socio-economic changes that follow the provision of improved water supplies and some other amenities and to create better understanding of the complex relationships that should exist to ensure successful implementation of water projects for sustainable rural development.

It emerged from the study that provision of water per se will not bring all the benefits unless it is accompanied by adequate utilization behaviour. Due to frequent interruptions in water supply, storage of water overnight was usual practice in Kokrobitey, the village with improved water, just as it was in the villages without improved water. The people of Kokrobitey never stored enough water to last them through the period of frequent interruptions thus forcing them to fall back on the traditional source. Moreover, water was not stored under any definite hygienic conditions which explains why Kokrobitey recorded the highest incidence of guinea worms and other worms among all the study villages.

The people of Kokrobitey indicated their willingness to participate actively in the planning from its inception in order to make for closer local identification with the project so as to devolve a greater degree of responsibility to them which will in turn help achieve greater efficiency in the running, maintaining and protecting the system. This is akin to development participation discussed in the root-based development approach.

The study produced other interesting results which can be of much use for the planning, execution and evaluation of similar and related projects. The model on which the Weija study was based can also form a useful framework for future projects but such replication should make allowance for variations in socio-economic activities as well as political institutions. Specific recommendations have been made with regards to variations in the Northern and Upper Regions which must be taken into account in planning similar studies there. Recommendations have also been made to adopt a two-phase training scheme for field supervisors and the recruitment of interviewers who can, as far as possible, speak the local language to facilitate the collection of very reliable data.

Suggestions for the modification of the model include the following:

a) That specific mention should be made in the planning stage of the need not only to involve but also to educate the affected people in priority setting and decision making about their development. This will enable water and water related projects to be put in the correct setting in development planning for the area.

b) That knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the values, beliefs and customs of the people relating to water should precede and not follow the provision of water, and

c) That changes in the people’s knowledge, values, attitudes, beliefs and customs about the use of water, waste disposal and personal/household hygiene must accompany and not follow the provision of water

These recommendations, which synchronize with the root-based development participation process, give empirical recognition and further demonstrable proof that even in the same country the one-size-fits-all approach to development may not hold.

The Conferment of Honourary Degree of Doctor of Laws on Daasebre Emmanuel Oti Boateng by the State University of New York during its 150th Commencement Ceremony at Geneseo, New York, and the Acceptance Speech thereof provide inspiration for knowledge and development. The speech expatiates the recipient’s belief that a shared knowledge is a goldmine of development as it widens perspectives and allows the exploration of the world with open eyes. The pursuit of knowledge is a means whereas the real substance lies in translating knowledge into a qualitative improvement in human life and overall development - a philosophy that explains the choice of the Root-based Model and Development in Unity as the wellspring of the three-volume book series.

Daasebre Professor (Emeritus) Oti Boateng

(Omanhene of New Juaben State and Chancellor, All Nations University)

November 2018.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to acknowledge the assistance of various people towards the publication of this third and final volume of the Development in Unity series.

Firstly, I wish to express my deep appreciation to Rev. Dr. Samuel Donkor, President of All Nations University, for his continued support and constant encouragement towards the publication of this volume.

I also wish to thank Baffour Nyantakyi Tutu Boateng, Kontihene of New Juaben, for reading through a large part of the manuscript to ensure that the dots were duly connected.

Again, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Nana Baafi Boateng, Atipinhene of New Juaben, for providing the yeoman’s services of data entry of part one and much of part two of this volume.

Dr Kwasi Kwarteng and Mrs Charlotte Boaitey Kwarteng engaged in several interactive discussions with me in London which helped to influence the final form and trajectory of this volume for which I am very grateful.

I am also thankful to Hemzy Boateng Graphix for the immaculate cover design of this volume as well as the provision of the index in alphabetical and sequential order.

Mrs Comfort Oti Boateng deserves my sincere thanks not only for her exquisite management of the household during the preparatory period of this volume but also for her immense contribution to the award-winning root-based model and its offshoot on women empowerment.

The author will like to thank Mr Joe K. Mensah, Vice-President and Country Manager-Ghana, Kosmos Energy, who is also the Apagyahene of Kumawu Traditional Area, for his welcome gesture of sponsoring the marketing cost of this publication.

The author will further like to acknowledge the following personalities for their contributions in a variety of ways: Professor Victor Berko Boateng, a lecturer of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Baffour Boasiako Okwae II, Agonahene of Apedwa; Mr. Nyaaba-Aweeba Azongo, Development Consultant; Dr. Theophilus K. Oware, Assistant Director of Technology and Research, All Nations University; Ms Cynthia Oswald, former President of Livingston Chamber of Commerce and presently the Information Officer, Citrus County, Florida; Mr. Peter Twum, lecturer at Koforidua Technical University; Nana Sifa Twum, Media and Communications Consultant; Nana Osei Boateng, a Graduate Engineer and Lawyer Paul Acheampong, a Legal Practitioner.

Finally, I wish to express my profound appreciation to Nana Akwasi Boateng (Nana Bee), Mrs Christine Boateng-Armah and Ms Lisa Boateng for providing the essential family support to sustain the preparation of this volume.

Notwithstanding the above acknowledgments, the author accepts full responsibility for any mistakes, errors, commissions and omissions emanating from this volume.

CONTENTS

Dedication

About The Author

Preface

Acknowledgement

PART I: RETHINKING DEVELOPMENT: PERSPECTIVES IN DEVELOPMENT THEORY AND PRACTICE

1. Introduction: Summaries Of Sections

2. The New Concept Of Development

3. Classic Theories And Practices Of Development

4. Alternative Development Concepts And Practices

5. Washington Consensus

6. Contribution Of The Root-Based Development Model To The Process Of Development

PART II: RETHINKING DEVELOPMENT: RESEARCH WORKS AND PAPERS WITH IMPACT ON DEVELOPMENT

7. Part Two: Summaries Of Research Works And Papers

8. Global Coalition For Africa: Building Information And Statistical Systems For Development

9. Inflation In Ghana: Causes, Consequenses And Possible Remedies

10. Housing Conditions And Utilization Of Health Services: A Study Of The Population Of Achimota Village, Adabraka And Tesano Areas Of Accra

11. The 2016 Ghana Elections – Issues With The Voter Turnout

12. Conferment Of Honourary Degree Of Doctor Of Laws On Daasebre Emmanuel Oti Boateng By The State University Of New York, Geneseo,

13. Ensuring The Central Role Of Women In Development

14 Weija Dam Project: An Evaluation/Study Of Water Utilization Behaviour And Its Related Socio-Economic Impact

14A Appendix 1 Water Development Objectives

14B Appendix 2 Tables A1 to A12

14C Appendix 3 Household Survey Questionnaire

14D Appendix 3 Household Survey Observation Checklist Questionnaire

14E Appendix 3 Survey For Village With Improved Water Supply

References

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PART ONE

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RETHINKING DEVELOPMENT: PERSPECTIVES IN DEVELOPMENT THEORY AND PRACTICE

1. RETHINKING DEVELOPMENT: PERSPECTIVES IN DEVELOPMENT THEORY AND PRACTICE

1. INTRODUCTION

Part One of this volume provides perspectives in development theory and practices with special emphasis on developing countries. It considers the new concept of development which broadens the previous narrow view of development to include the peculiar problems of developing countries and other concerns. It also discusses the classic theories and practices of development which are shown to require a good deal of modification in order to fit the complex and varied institutional and structural realities of developing countries. Efforts made by many International Organizations and bilateral aid agencies from the late 1960’s in search of alternative development concepts and practices are discussed. The Washington Consensus on the role of the state in development and the New Washington Consensus which addresses inequality and recognizes a broad eclectic role in development for government have been covered. These efforts followed the widespread disenchantment with the dominant development theories which treated economic growth as synonymous with development. It concludes with a discussion of the contribution of the author’s award-winning Root-based model for sustainable community development which pioneers an alternative development approach in response to contemporary global development challenges.

SUMMARIES OF SECTIONS

The New Concept of Development

Up to the Second World War, development was mainly considered as synonymous with economic growth. However, the limitations of this narrow view of development especially for developing countries, coupled with other major concerns, led to a search for a new concept of development which has a much broader scope and addresses the peculiar problems of developing countries. This culminated in the new concept of development discussed in section 2 which, in addition to the usual concerns of efficient allocation of existing scarce productive resources with their sustained growth over time, also deals with the economic, social, political and institutional mechanisms, both public and private, necessary to provide accelerated and large-scale improvement in levels of living.

Thus, to enhance its scope, the new concept of development goes well beyond the accumulation of wealth and growth of gross national income and other income related variables to embrace a much more inclusive concept of increasing the welfare of societies.

The new concept of development has been influenced by the powerful messages of Gaulet(1971), Sen(1983, 1999) and others leading to a strong re-conceptualization in terms of components of human development encompassing human well-being beyond income and the process through which people are empowered to shape their own development priorities and to be better enabled to exercise their human rights. The new concept of development is, in essence, a multi-dimensional process involving major changes in social structures, popular attitudes, national and indigenous institutions as well as acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and the eradication of poverty. The section further describes the construction of a composite index of human development by the UNDP which draws heavily on the work of Gaulet, Sen and others and takes into account economic as well as social variables.

Classic Theories and Practices of Development

Section 3 examines the classic theories and practices of development. It chronicles the earliest capitalist strategies of economic development from Adam Smith in 1776 to Alfred Marshall in the 1890’s whose huge influence largely shaped mainstream economic and development thought for the ensuing fifty years. These theories stressed the efficacy of global free trade and, in a broad sense, gave rise to the earliest capitalist strategies of economic development which envisioned little or no government restrictions on the operation of the economy. In the late 1930’s John Maynard Keynes, an outstanding student of Marshall, argued that government should play a major role in economic management since; in his view, economically and socially successful economies have significant contribution from both government and private sector. The ideas of Keynes formed the basis of Keynesian economics which dominates much of present day development theory and practice. These ideas also marked a break with the laissez-faire economics of Adam Smith which held that economies function best when markets are left free of state intervention.

Section 3.2 considers the four major competing theories and approaches which have dominated the post-World War II development literature: the linear-stages-of-growth model, theories and patterns of structural change, the international dependence revolution and the neo-classical free-market counter revolution. The linear-stages-of-growth model, sometimes referred to as International Keynesianism on account of its extensive intellectual roots from Keynesian economics, includes Waltz Rostow’s stages-of-growth theory and the Harrod-Domar model. This growth model envisions development as a process of capital formation which, in turn, is largely determined by levels of savings and investment especially in high growth sectors such as manufacturing industries. Growth is regarded as a uni-linear process which will endure once momentum is gained while no conceptual space is given in the model for possibilities of subsequent decline or underdevelopment.

Structural change models, which dominated much of the development literature over much of the 1950’s and1960’s, focus on the methods by which underdeveloped economies transform their economic structures from a heavy emphasis on traditional subsistence agriculture to a more modern, urbanized and industrially diverse manufacturing and service economy. Two notable examples of the structural change approach described in the section are the two-sector surplus labour theoretical model of W. Arthur Lewis and the patterns of development empirical analysis of Hollis B. Chenery and his co-authors.

Following the growing dissatisfaction with both the stages and the structural change models, the international-dependence model emerged with increasing support in the 1970’s especially among the developing country intellectuals. This model views developing countries as beset by institutional, political and economic rigidities, both domestic and international, and caught up in a dependent and dominance relationship with rich countries. Three major streams of thought from this general approach; the neo-colonial dependence model, the false paradigm model and the dualistic- development thesis, have been discussed. These models reject the exclusive emphasis on traditional neo-classical theories which focus on the acceleration of GDP growth as the principal yardstick of development. The models not only question the validity of the Lewis-type two-sector models of modernization due to their questionable assumptions and limited impact in developing countries but also refute the claims made by Chenery and others of a well-defined empirical pattern of development that should be pursued by most poor countries. These theories rather place more emphasis on the fundamental economic, political and institutional reforms, both domestic and worldwide, that are needed to redress the international power imbalances.

The neo-classical counterrevolution, which would dominate western (and to a lesser extent developing country) theories of economic development, was a resurgence of neo-classical free market orientation in the 1980s towards development problems and policies to counter the interventionist dependence revolutions of the 1970s. It argues that underdevelopment emanate from poor resource allocation due to incorrect pricing policies and too much state intervention by developing nation governments that slows the pace of economic growth. Hence by permitting competitive free market to flourish, privatizing state-own enterprises, promoting free trade and export expansion, welcoming investors from developed countries, and eliminating the overbearing government regulations and price distortions in factor product and financial markets, both economic efficiency and economic growth will be stimulated.

Three approaches of the neo-classical counterrevolution, namely, The Free Market Approach, The Public-Choice Theory and The Market Friendly Approach as well as the Traditional Neoclassical Growth Theory and the Solow-Swan Model have been discussed.

In perspective, although dependence theorists viewed underdevelopment as externally induced phenomena, Neo-classical revisionists viewed the issue as an internally generated problem of developing countries caused by too much government intervention and bad economic policies.

The discussion supports the neo-classical counter revolution’s contention that free-markets and less governments provide the basic elements for development, stressing that based on efficiency rather than equity criteria, market price allocation usually does a better job than state intervention.

However, the economies of the developing and developed worlds are so different in structure and organization that the behavioural assumptions and policy underpinnings of traditional neo-classical theory are frequently problematic and usually inaccurate.

Each of the approaches has its strengths and weaknesses which have been highlighted. Notwithstanding their varied and competing views, something positive and consequential can be extracted from each of them. The linear-stages model, for example, stresses the centrality of savings and investment in the promotion of sustainable long term growth. The structural