In 2006, an independent Commission on Growth and Development was created to study and promote economic revitalization and poverty reduction in developing countries. In this audio lecture, Nobel economics prizewinner Michael Spence discusses what that commission learned about how 13 developing countries experienced high growth over time. He outlines what such nations had in common historically, economically, and politically, and how their particular decisions about internal business growth, as well as external trade, led to their financial improvement. He also looks at how they have weathered the world economic crisis. Finally, he predicts what patterns of growth we may expect in the developing world over the next two decades, and what kind of international regulatory policies will be needed to support that growth.

This audio lecture was recorded as part of the 2009-2010 Public Management Initiative (PMI) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Hosted by the Center for Social Innovation’s Public Management Program, the PMI is a yearlong, student-driven academic project focused on a specific public issue. The theme for 2010, Debating Tomorrow: The Changing World of Business, explores how business will have to change in light of the recent financial crisis and how, in turn, business might shape change in the future.