Rostow model of development

Model of economic growth suggesting that all countries pass through a series of stages of development as their economies grow. US economist Walt Rostow presented this model in 1960 following a mainly European-based study.

Rostow described the first stage of development as traditional society. This is defined as subsistence economy based mainly on farming with very limited technology or capital to process raw materials or develop services and industries. Preconditions for take-off, the second stage, are said to take place when the levels of technology within a country develop and the development of a transport system encourages trade. During the next stage, take-off, manufacturing industries grow rapidly, airports, roads, and railways are built, and growth poles emerge as investment increases. Stage four is termed the drive to maturity during which growth should be self-sustaining, having spread to all parts of the country, and leading to an increase in the number and types of industry. During this stage more complex transport systems and manufacturing expand as transport develops, rapid urbanization occurs, and traditional industries may decline. In Rostow's final stage, the age of mass consumption, rapid expansion of tertiary industries occurs alongside a decline in manufacturing.