Structural Inequality

Reviews / Votes

In his latest book, Roger Norton brings decades of field experience in a wide range of countries, his intellectual rigour, sensitivity to local conditions, ability to correctly diagnose constraints, as well as his jargon-free writing style, to bear on some of the key theoretical and operational assumptions in extant approaches to tackling structural inequalities. The result is a unique piece of scholarship which will fundamentally shift the debates on this critical issue onto new and more productive terrain. It is long overdue, and will undoubtedly be warmly and gratefully received by academics, development practitioners, governments and international development agencies.

-- Mark Simpson , Senior Research Fellow, School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK

Dr. Norton is a well-known and respected agricultural economist with a long history of working in developing countries around the world and writing outstanding scholarly publications for professionals. In this book, he brings his analytical expertise to bear on the issues of economic development, poverty, and inequality, but he also lets us see his deep humanitarian side in the vignettes he presents. He shows us that social, cultural, and historical environments contribute significantly to the success or failure of economists' more traditional prescriptions for economic development - property rights, markets, production enhancement, and transparency - and he demonstrates that macro-economic policies can have a powerful effect on the implementation of these micro-economic recommendations. This book is both a guide for professionals in the development world and a glimpse into the human experiences of the author and those affected by development policies.

-- John Keith , Professor Emeritus of Applied Economics, Utah State University, USA

Structural Inequality is a mesmerizing essay built from testimonies of ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances on their experiences of reality. It dwells into development theory tools and policies to explain the paths into and out of long-time inequality within different contexts and cultures. Norton´s lifelong work can be clearly seen through this critical reflection on development that poses hopeful ways forward to revert such inequalities.

-- María Eugenia Ibarrarán , Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla, Mexico

Many years ago, when I was trying to capture country situations in mathematical models, a highly experienced expert in the field of agriculture told me about his secrets in country analysis: "I go, I see, and then I know." With his book about "Structural Inequality - Origins and Quests for Solutions in Old Worlds and New," Roger Norton follows this approach and takes the reader with him as an expert with all his knowledge acquired through lifelong experiences in country work to "see," to "understand" and to "know" how problems could be dealt with. It is motivating reading as the author lets the reader directly participate in on-site occurrences, experiences and events, providing a realistic "seeing," and in guiding the reader towards conclusions in support to reach the status of "knowing." I highly recommend this book as it stands out in its approach of highlighting the background and developments in inequality and discussing opportunities for reducing the problem in different countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

-- Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schiefer , University of Bonn, Germany