Rostow Stage of Growth

PAPER COURSE - ECONOMICS OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
UNIT 3- ROSTOW’S STAGE OF GROWTH
The Rostow Stages of Growth is a model that outlines the economic development of countries through
a series of five linear stages. It was developed by American Economist Walt Whitman Rostow in his
1960 book “The Stages of Economic Growth “with the subtitle “A Non-Communist Manifesto”.
Rostow’s model presents a historical, linear process through which societies evolve from traditional
economies to modern industrialized states.
According to Rostow, for a country to become fully developed, it must follow 5 particular stages. As
time progresses, a country will go through each stage of economic growth and eventually reach the
final stage as a fully developed nation. The 5 stages of economic growth are:
Stage 1: Traditional Society
Stage 2: Preconditions for Take-off
Stage 3: Take -off
Stage 4: Drive to Maturity
Stage 5: Age of high mass consumption
Stage 1: Traditional Society
In this stage, a country’s industry is characterised by a rural, agricultural and subsistence economy,
with a little trading and connections with other countries or even within their own nation. Bartering is
a common characteristic of trading in this stage (swapping goods rather than purchasing them with
money). Labour is often intensive, and there is very little technology or scientific knowledge as well as
there is a lack of infrastructure. This stage shows counties to be very limited, with a low level of
development.
Stage 2: Preconditions for Take off
In this stage, early manufacturing begins to take off, despite slowly. For example, more machinery
enters the agricultural industry, moving away from purely a subsistence food supply, helping to grow
more food and reduce labour intensiveness. National and International connections start to develop,
as well as education, politics, communication and infrastructure. For Rostow, this take-off is accelerator
(speed up) by aid or Foreign Direct Investment from the West. This is also a stage for entrepreneurs,
who begin to take risks and make investment.
Stage 3: Take-off
This stage is characterised by industrialisation and rapid and sustainable growth. After this
industrialisation, then follows the increase in the production of goods that could then be sold in far-
away markets. Urbanisation also starts to increase as a result of rural-urban migration towards
factories in cities. There are vast infrastructure improvements, industries become internationalised,
investments in technology are high, and the population becomes wealthier. Countries that are
considered developing countries today are in this stage, such as Thailand.
Stage 4: Drive to Maturity
This stage is a slow process and takes place over a more extended amount of time. At this stage, the
economy i said to be self- sustaining, meaning it essentially supports itself, and economic growth
continues naturally. Industries start to develop further, agricultural production goes down, investment
increases, technology improves, skills diversify, urbanisation intensifies, and further infrastructural
improvements occur. The economy grows alongside the population's standards of living. Over time,
these improvements keep developing further as new sectors flourish. This economic growth stage can
be exampled by the newly emerging economies of the world, such as China.
Stage 5: Age of high mass consumption
The final stage of Rostow’s model is where many western and developed nations lie, such as Germany,
the U.K., or the Us. U.S., characterised by a capitalist political system. This is a high-production (high-
quality goods) and high-consumption society with a dominant service sector. The service sector
(tertiary sector) is part of the economy involved in service provisions, such as retail, finance, leisure,
and public services. Consumption is beyond the basic level, i.e., no longer consuming what is
necessary, like food or shelter, but more luxury items and luxury living. These powerful countries are
characterised by high economic standing and economic growth. In this stage national income improve
greatly, per capita income increases greatly.
Advantages of Rostow's Model
Rostow's Model was created as a means of supporting underdeveloped countries. An advantage of the
model is that it provides a framework for this to occur. Rostow's model also provides some
understanding of the state of the economic, world today and why there are more powerful countries
than others.
Criticism of Rostow Model
Although Rostow's model has its advantages, it has been heavily criticised since its birth. In fact, his
model is incredibly flawed for the following reasons:
1. The first stage is not necessary for development; countries like Canada never had the
traditional stage and have still ended up highly developed.
2. The model is categorically split into 5 stages: however, crossovers often exist between the
stages. Each stage may have characteristics of other stages, showing the process to be no as
clear-cut-as Rostow says. Some stages may even be missed out entirely. The stages are also
very generalised, and some scholars believe they undermine the complex development
processes.
3. The model doesn't consider the risk of countries going backwards, nor what happens after
stage 5.
4. In his model, Rostow highlights the importance of manufacturing industries, like textiles or
transport infrastructure. However, it doesn't take into account the expansion of other
industries, which could also lead to economic growth.
5. There is not a huge amount of evidence for this model; it's based on a handful of countries,
thus, may not be the most reliable.
6. Environmentalists are huge critics of the model; the final stage focuses on the mass
consumption of resources, which, in the current climate crisis, is not favoured.

Rostow Stage of Growth

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Rostow Stage of Growth

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Rostow Stage of Growth

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PAPER COURSE - ECONOMICS OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

UNIT 3- ROSTOW’S STAGE OF GROWTH

Stage 1: Traditional Society

Stage 2: Preconditions for Take-off

Stage 3: Take -off

Stage 4: Drive to Maturity

Stage 5: Age of high mass consumption

Stage 1: Traditional Society

Stage 2: Preconditions for Take off

Stage 5: Age of high mass consumption

Advantages of Rostow's Model

Criticism of Rostow Model

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.