Completely revised and updated, the latest edition of Leading Issues in Economic Development presents a more concise view of development economics, without sacrificing the variety of viewpoints and perspectives that have made previous editions so popular. With a broad range of theoretical, applied, and policy materials, the new edition incorporates many new topics, including the heterogeneity of developing countries and their differing rates of performance, the neoclassical resurgence, organizational dualism, imperfect information and incomplete markets, financial reform, liberalization programs, external debt and country risk analysis, the new export pessimism, microeconomics of the rural sector, food policy, and the new political economy. Most of the selections are new, new notes have been added and former notes revised, new comments are introduced to illuminate special topics, and new exhibits offer empirical illustrations. Finally, throughout the Fifth Edition there is a concentration on fundamental analytical principles and empirical relationships.