The first stage, roughly from the 1940s to the mid-1960s. The characteristics of development theory in this period can be summarized by capitalization, planning and industrialization. Because this stage is the initial stage of development economics, various development theories have appeared one after another. Therefore, this stage is also called the stage of great innovation and contention of development theory.
In the second stage, from the mid-1960s to the end of 1970s, the development focus of this stage changed from simply pursuing economic growth to realizing economic growth, demanding fair distribution and meeting the basic needs of human beings.
The third stage is roughly from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s. At this stage, the western conservative government represented by American President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher came to power, bringing a set of neoclassical economic theories and policies and advocating the power of free market economy. Theoretically, the so-called supply-side economics appeared at that time. From the policy point of view, developed countries tend to advocate the privatization of state-owned enterprises, while developing countries tend to privatize, unplanned and reduce government intervention. At this stage, neoclassical economics gradually occupied the mainstream of development economics. The fourth stage is from the late 1980s to the beginning of this century. With the development of post-war high technology, international trade and international division of labor have achieved unprecedented development, and the world economy is increasingly internationalized and globalized. In the world, a new high-tech competition system has emerged. In the mid-1980s, people put forward the concept of sustainable development.