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3 The Theory of Economic Developmen t and the "European Miracle " Ralph Raic o Introduction Among writer s o n economi c development , P . T . Baue r i s note d both fo r th e dept h o f hi s historica l knowledge , an d fo r hi s insis tence o n th e indispensabilit y o f historica l studie s i n understand ing th e phenomeno n o f growt h (Walter s 1989 , 60 ; se e als o Dor n 1987). In canvassin g th e wor k o f othe r theorists , Baue r ha s com plained o f their manifes t "amputatio n o f the tim e dimension" : The historica l backgroun d i s essentia l fo r a worthwhil e discussio n o f economic development , whic h i s an integra l par t o f the historical prog ress o f society . Bu t man y o f th e mos t widel y publicize d writing s o n development effectively disregar d both the historical background and th e nature of development as a process. (Bauer 1972 , 324-25) Too man y writer s i n th e field hav e succumbe d t o professiona l overspecialization combine d wit h a positivis t obsessio n wit h dat a that happe n t o b e amenabl e t o mathematica l techniques . Th e result ha s bee n model s o f developmen t wit h littl e connectio n t o reality: Abilities and attitudes, mores and institutions, cannot generally be quantified i n a n illuminatin g fashion . . . . Yet the y ar e plainl y muc h mor e 37 38 Ralp h Raic o important and relevant to development tha n such influences as the terms of trade , foreig n exchang e reserves , capita l outpu t ratios , o r externa l economies, topics which fill the pages of the consensus literature , (ibid. , 326) Even whe n a write r appear s t o approac h th e subjec t histori cally , concentration o n quantifiable dat a t o the neglect of underly ing institutiona l an d social-psychologica l factor s tend s t o fore shorten th e chronological perspectiv e an d thu s vitiat e th e result : It i s misleadin g t o refe r t o th e situatio n i n eighteenth-an d nineteenth century Europ e a s representin g initia l condition s i n development . B y then the west was pervaded by the attitudes and institutions appropriat e to an exchange economy and a technical age to a far greate r extent tha n south Asia today. These attitudes and institutions had emerged graduall y over a period of eight centuries. (Ibid., 219-20)1 At the roo t o f the approac h criticize d b y Bauer ther e appear s t o be a methodologica l holis m tha t prefer s t o manipulate aggregate s while ignorin g individua l huma n actor s an d th e institution s thei r actions generate . Yet , "difference s i n people' s capacitie s an d atti tudes an d i n thei r institution s ar e far-reachin g an d deepseate d and largely explain differences in economic performance and in levels and rates of material progress" (ibid. , 313-14; emphasis added) . Bauer's critiqu e thu s draw s attentio n t o the nee d t o stud y bot h the centurie s o f Europea n histor y antedatin g th e Industria l Revo lution an d "th e interrelationship s betwee n social , political , an d legal institutions " i n tha t perio d (ibid. , 211)? Her e hi s assessmen t links up wit h a n impressiv e bod y o f scholarship tha t ha s emerge d in recent year s emphasizing precisel y thes e points . The "Europea n Miracle " While i t woul d b e wron g t o sugges t th e existenc e o f an y mono lithic analysis , a number o f scholars concerne d wit h th e history o f European growt h hav e tende d t o converg e o n a n interpretatio n highlighting certai n distinctiv e factors . Fo r...

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