Kalecki and the structuralist view of economic development

Abstract

This paper commemorates the 70th anniversary of Kalecki’s seminal lecture in Mexico on financing economic development. The first part outlines the theoretical model underlying Kalecki’s view of development financing. The second part summarizes the foundations of structuralist development economics in the Pre-bisch-Singer approach to international trade and importsubstitution development strategies. The third part examines the confrontation between Kalecki’s view of economic development strategy and the structuralist approach in the case of Cuba, highlighting the differences between both perspectives. The fourth part concludes with some reflections on today's relevance of structuralism and Kalecki’s view of economic development.