Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2013
The political elite require resources in order to survive politically. Given the conditions existing in most developing nations, this implies following an inward-oriented development strategy promoting a large-scale, capital-intensive industrial sector. This strategy impoverishes agriculture and implies that the leaders of the industrial sector will make up a critical component of the coalition providing political support to the political elite. Reform allowing for outward-oriented growth will be extremely difficult. Dramatically increasing agricultural productivity provides a means to provide political legitimacy for the ruling elite as well as the political leverage to bring about reform.