Norway, having transformed itself from one of the poorest countries of the world to one of the richest in a century, offers an amazing case study of develop-ment. Although a superficial assessment might at-tribute this to its natural resources of water, minerals and fish, it is clear from the experience of many other countries that these are far from being sufficient causes of increased wealth.
The Political Economy of Rural Development consists of twelve of Brox’s key essays, many of which become available in English for the first time. They set out to account for rural development in rapidly growing industrial economies, starting from the Norwegian case. This book will be of interest for scholars and students of development studies, anthropology, human geog-raphy, rural change and development, North Atlantic studies, and the circumpolar region.
Ottar Brox (1932) has had a distinguished career as a Norwegian social scientist over four decades. He has held positions as a social anthropologist, professor of sociology, and research director of the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research. He was also a Member of the Norwegian Parliament for a number of years and continues to participate in the public debate. He is the author of many books, of which the best known are Hva skjer i Nord-Norge (What happens in North-Norway?) (1966) and Dit vi ikke vil (What we don’t want) (1995).
