Is There Too Little Theory in Development Economics Today?

Is There Too Little Theory in Development Economics Today?
DILIP MOOKHERJEE Development economics is increasingly becoming an empirical discipline today. Where theory reigned during the 1980s and early 1990s, in the last 10 years or so the primary research concerns have become increasingly driven by empirical and policy issues. In this essay I wish to reflect on the balance between theory and the rest in the discipline, thinking aloud about the question of whether the pendulum has shifted away a bit too far, and whether there is need for some reorientation of the dominant research agenda or methodology.