Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose

If you want to understand what truly drives development this is the book for you. It's written in an accessible, fun, way and is packed with anecdotes, stories and data but make no mistake: it is a serious piece of work. Dercon lays out his thesis of why some places develop while others languish, and how trajectories change. He also has something to say about what outsiders can do, and the pretty severe limits to this.It could only have been written by him. He combines real pedigree as an academic economist, a Professor at the University of Oxford and the Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies, with more than a decade as the most senior technocrat in one of the largest aid agencies in the world. He knows better than most both what progress has been made and the relatively humble role played by aid and donors.A must read.

Excellent review of literature in the area an interesting and thought provoking read

Annoying self-centered writing. Few hard numbers. A very disappointing book

1) The literature reviews are very good.2) The two concepts (elite bargain, and development bargain) seem to be confusing at times.3) why some poor countries win and some lose? Having read the book, I’m still unclear. The author deserves credit for saying that “it depends. There are no silver bullets”.