Abstract

The Great Recession has drastically reduced orders for manufactured goods, steep declines in global commodity prices, shrinking migrant remittances and a drying-up of aid funds to poor regions. The dramatic fall in global markets and global prices has reverberated around the world, hitting hardest those countries who have been most dependent on exports. What does this new crisis mean for development theory? What does this collapse reveal about export-oriented growth strategies? What lessons will developing countries take away from the crisis? This paper argues that the current economic crisis may prompt policy-makers to rethink may of the assumptions that have guided policy-makers in recent decades.