Rostow - Stages of Growth

The work of American economist Walt W. Rostow.

Rostow is an economic historian

Countries can be placed in one of five categories in terms of its stage of growth.

Stages of Growth Stage5 : High Mass Consumption Consumer oriented ,durable goods flourish ,service sector becomes dominant.

Stage 4: Drive to MaturityDiversification, innovation , less reliance on imports.

Stage1 : Traditional SocietySubsistence, Barter, agriculture

Stage3: Take Off Industrialisation, growing investment , regional growth and political change.

Stage2: Transitional StageSpecialisation, surpluses, infrastructure.

The Traditional Society

• The essence of a traditional society is that the people have little collective ability to raise their economic productivity because they lack the technical and scientific knowledge to do so.

•These societies devote a high Proportion of their resources to farming. •Political power is concentrated in the hands of the landowners.•Family and inheritance are highly valued.

Preconditions for Takeoff

• It takes time to alter a traditional society because old beliefs are difficult to Challenge. Following Pre conditions are required:– Development of mining

industries– Increase in capital use in

agriculture– Necessity of external funding– Some growth in savings and

investment

Takeoff

• Takeoff occurs when the bulk of society has come to accept and favour the idea of change. Output per person increases enormously, and real wages rise. Following are the features : • Increasing industrialisation• Further growth in savings

and investment• Some regional growth• Number employed in

agriculture decline

Drive to Maturity

– Growth becomes self-sustaining –

wealth generation enables further investment in value adding industry and development

– Industry more diversified– Increase in levels of technology

utilised

High mass consumption

– High output levels–Mass consumption of

consumer durables– High proportion of

employment in service sector