This impressive and innovative book uses a political settlements framework to shed light on the very different trajectories of two socialist developing countries transitioning to 'market economies.' Its analysis of the relationships between institutions, ideologies, productive capabilities and organizational structures provides many important insights on the political economy of growth and governance. * Mushtaq Khan, Professor of Economics, SOAS, University of London * The originality of the book lies in transcending some of the limits of other approaches to political settlements, in particular their focus on state centralization and assumptions of the overriding dominance of clientelism. The book provides a genuine political economy of economic transformation that examines the historical context and different forms in which power was obtained and used to drive economic change in Tanzania and Vietnam. By setting out the contours of
a socialist political settlement, the book explores the emergence of informalization within the state itself and the consequences of this for economic transformation. * Marc Wuyts, Emeritus Professor of Quantitative Applied Economics, ISS, Erasmus University of Rotterdam * Hazel Gray's book, written with clarity and conviction, makes a compelling case for the insights that careful, comparative field research and heterodox economics can offer to students of economic development. * Claire Mercer, Associate Professor of Human Geography, London School of Economics and Political Science * A highly original and compelling contribution to the political economy of economic transformation, this book is packed with detail and fresh insight into the paths followed over recent decades in each of its focus countries, Vietnam and Tanzania. Drawing on political settlements theory, it contains the best account yet of the divergent trajectories of these countries: how their former socialist settlements unravelled, the way different types of off-budget transfers
and contrasting land rights shaped patterns of investment, and the effectiveness of approaches to industrial policy. * David Booth, Principal Research Fellow, Politics and Governance Programme, Overseas Development Institute * This book has made a considerable contribution to the discourse on the role of institutions in economic development based on the experience of two former socialist countries, Tanzania and Vietnam. Addressing the role of the state in economic transformation in the two low income countries, the book shows that the paths in economic transformation that the two countries took as they transitioned from socialist to more open market economies demonstrates different paths
in economic transformation. The most significant contribution of this book is in the way it has generated new insights into the role of institutions in low income countries and in the variable relationship between political order and economic outcomes. The book makes very useful reading to students
and specialists in development and the role of institutions in development. * Samuel Wangwe, Emeritus Professor of Economics University of Dar es Salaam * It is now almost universally recognised that the state played an active role in transforming the economies of the Asian tigers and China. A study which looks at what this means for theory is therefore very welcome. This book does this by comparing the economies of Vietnam and Tanzania, both of which emerged from periods of socialism in 1986. The author shows that the comparative success of Vietnam came from a socialist political settlement in which the state promoted
policies to improve the productivity of small-scale agriculture and to rapidly expand exports of labour-intensive manufactured products. Tanzania, in contrast, remained with a high-cost agriculture, which fed into wage costs, and made it difficult to export manufactured goods. This book should be
read by anyone interested in economic strategies and the contrasting possible roles of the state. * Andrew Coulson, University of Birmingham, Author of Tanzania: A Political Economy * This book addresses some of the key debates in contemporary theories of institutions and economic development. It provides a critique of both the good governance and the authoritarian advantage argument and sets out more a nuanced analysis of the role of power, institutions and ideology in explaining economic transformation. The book is a major contribution to African-Asian comparative studies often marred by invidious and ill-informed comparisons. * Thandika Mkandawire, Professor of African Development, London School of Economics, UK *