Bringing in the Future: Strategies for Farsightedness and Sustainability in Developing Countries - Softcover

Ascher, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226029174 ISBN 13: 9780226029177

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2009

Synopsis

Humans are plagued by shortsighted thinking, preferring to put off work on complex, deep-seated, or difficult problems in favor of quick-fix solutions to immediate needs. When short-term thinking is applied to economic development, especially in fragile nations, the results—corruption, waste, and faulty planning—are often disastrous. In Bringing in the Future, William Ascher draws on the latest research from psychology, economics, institutional design, and legal theory to suggest strategies to overcome powerful obstacles to long-term planning in developing countries.

Drawing on cases from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Ascher applies strategies such as the creation and scheduling of tangible and intangible rewards, cognitive exercises to increase the understanding of longer-term consequences, self-restraint mechanisms to protect long-term commitments and enhance credibility, and restructuring policy-making processes to permit greater influence of long-term considerations. Featuring theoretically informed research findings and sound policy examples, this volume will assist policy makers, activists, and scholars seeking to understand how the vagaries of human behavior affect international development.

About this title

Review:

"This is an imaginative and sophisticated treatment of a tremendously important, albeit extremely complicated, collection of topics. Few authors could have carried this off as well as Ascher, given his long and varied career as both a distinguished policy scientist and responsible practitioner. Indeed, he virtually draws on almost everything he knows as he classifies, inventories, and assesses dozens of different ways, means, and strategies to promote what he terms 'farsightedness.'" - Garry D. Brewer, Yale School of Management"

About the Author:

William Ascher is the Donald C. McKenna Professor of Government and Economics at Claremont McKenna College. The latest of his numerous books are Guide to Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy and Revitalizing Political Psychology.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0226029174
• ISBN 13: 9780226029177
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 342