Marketing and Economic Development

Abstract

In the “underdeveloped” countries of the world, the more “glamorous” fields such as manufacturing or construction are generally high-lighted while marketing is treated with neglect, if not with contempt. Yet marketing holds a key position in these countries. It is generally the most backward of all areas of economic life.

Marketing is also the most effective engine of economic development, particularly in its ability rapidly to develop entrepreneurs and managers. And it contributes what is the greatest need of an “underdeveloped” country: a systematic discipline in a vital area of economic activity … a discipline which is based on generalized, theoretical concepts and which can, therefore, be both taught and learned.