UN University Rector David Malone Talks on International Development: Ideas, Experience, and Prospects

Dr. Malone re-examined the theories and experience in the development for the last several decades. He pointed out that in the early aid initiatives, policymakers and practitioners attempted to apply the success model of the reconstruction of Japan and Europe to developing countries that had been decolonized. But, they failed in developing countries where industrialization has been on the way. He explained that development efforts to transfer the technology of developed countries to developing communities did not fully function. In light of these experiences, Western countries, therefore, created development models as “prescriptions” or “recipes,” which in some cases referred to as the Washington Consensus; Dr. Malone noted that these “recipes” did not produce expected results either. He pointed out that the cause of these failures was an excessive emphasis placed on the economy, neglecting to consider diversity of societies in developing countries.