Fashionable
There was a time when countries like Guyana were interested in what an economist like W. W. Rostow had to say about development. Indeed, it was quite fashionable at one period in history for newly independent countries to pursue the idea of self-sustaining economic growth as a way of comforting themselves that they could enjoy economic independence. Those countries that had the courage actively searched for a way to secure continued economic growth by increasing their domestic savings to finance their own domestic investment. Guyana was one of those countries which felt that the mercantilist policies of the 20th Century were valid policies for achieving economic growth, and shortly after Independence began to pursue such policies. Part of this mercantilist policy posture undoubtedly came from an awareness of the stages of growth theory of Rostow as implied by William Demas in his 1965 book entitled ”The Economics of Development of Small Countries: With Special Reference to the Caribbean”. Demas was the first Secretary-General of Caricom and had a front row view of the fervent efforts of some Caribbean countries, especially Guyana and Jamaica, along with other like-minded developing countries to remake the world to their own image and likeness. As logical as it sounded, self-sustaining growth as he remarked in his book “was at variance with the hard facts of international economic life in the [then] contemporary world”.
Remake the World
Twenty-five years after Rostow’s idea on self-sustained development was abandoned by Guyana and numerous criticisms of the model, Rostow’s theory might be making a comeback. It is once again linked to efforts to remake the world, but this time with the intent of achieving environmentally sustainable development. Studies have begun to emerge that seek to find out if the model could be used to determine the stage of development at which a country needs to be to cope with environmental challenges. One such study was undertaken on the economy of India by Rita Yi Man Li and Ronald Hung, and published last year in the Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business Research to know if India had reached the stage of self-sustaining development. The study concludes that India was in the drive to maturity stage of development. India, therefore, is essentially a