Education for Global Development – Reconciling Society, State and Market

In 1997 John Martinussen’s “Society, State and Market: A guide to competing theories of development” was published in English. It was an important book, a model of its kind, written with lucidity and simplicity, and considered the most comprehensive account of international development then in print. As reviewers observed, its contribution was to discuss development economics within the context of differing political and cultural circumstances. The Swedish academic Bjorn Hettne asserted that the book would: “… without doubt provide the baseline for research and teaching in the field well into the next millennium.” However, it is worth noting, despite the high praise, how little attention Martinussen paid to education as a motor of development.