A.P.Thirlwall is Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Kent, UK. He has lectured widely in developing countries and has been a consultant to several international development agencies including the African Development Bank and the Pacific Islands Development Programme in Hawaii. He has written a number of other books in the field of development economics, and is Series Editor of the Great Thinkers in Economics collection published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Penélope Pacheco-López teaches economics at the University of Kent, UK, and has been a Consultant to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the International Trade Centre, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). She is the author with A.P.Thirlwall of Trade Liberalization and the Poverty of Nations.