Rodrik menyoroti bahwa meskipun prinsip dasar ekonomi bersifat universal (one economics), jalan menuju pertumbuhan dan pembangunan ekonomi yang berhasil sangat beragam dan bergantung pada konteks lokal masing-masing negara (many recipes). Ia mengkritisi pendekatan one-size-fits-all dari kebijakan ekonomi global.
The spectacular gap in incomes that separates the world's rich and poor nations is the central economic fact of our time. The econmic of growth has come a long way since it regained center stage for economists in the mid-1980s.