Walt Rostow

Walt Rostow was an American economist and historian who developed a model explaining how countries develop economically. His "Stages of Economic Growth" describe five steps: traditional society, preconditions for take-off, take-off, drive to maturity, and age of high mass consumption. Rostow believed countries progress through these stages as they modernize and grow wealth. His ideas influenced how policymakers and economists understand economic development, emphasizing factors like industrialization, infrastructure, and consumer markets. While influential, his model has also faced criticism for oversimplification and not accounting for all global differences.