The Scorecard on Development: 25 Years of Diminished Progress

Abstract

Th is paper examines data on economic growth and various social indicators and compares the past 25 years with the prior two decades . Th e paper fi nds that the past 25 years in low-and middle-income countries have seen a sharp slowdown in the rate of economic growth, as well as a decline in the rate of progress on major social indicators including life expectancy and infant and child mortality. Th e authors conclude that economists and policy-makers should devote more eff ort to determining the causes of the economic and development failure of the last quarter-century. JEL Classifi cation: O10, O40, O11

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