The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto

work by Rostow

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 19, 2026

Quick Summary

W.W. Rostow's "The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto" proposes that all nations progress through five distinct stages of economic development. These stages are: the traditional society, the preconditions for take-off, the take-off, the drive to maturity, and the age of high mass-consumption.1

Rostow's theory suggests that economic growth is a linear process, moving from a traditional, agrarian society to a modern, industrialized one. The "take-off" stage is particularly crucial, characterized by rapid industrialization and investment. This framework was influential in development economics, offering a model for understanding how less-developed countries could achieve economic advancement.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

development theory
Theories of modernization and growth
His 1960 book, The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto, elaborated a linear-stages-of-growth model that defined development as a sequence of stages through which all societies must pass. This conception of the nature and process of development became the basic blueprint for modernization theory.
Read More
His 1960 book, The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto, elaborated a linear-stages-of-growth model that defined development as a sequence of stages through which all societies must pass. This conception of the nature and process of development became the basic blueprint for modernization theory.
Read More

historiography
Economic history
Walt Whitman Rostow (1916–2003), in Stages of Economic Growth (1960), attempted a general theory of how economies industrialize. His six-stage model did not gain general acceptance, but he did raise the issue of long-term economic development, which directed some economists, at least, toward history.
Read More
Walt Whitman Rostow (1916–2003), in Stages of Economic Growth (1960), attempted a general theory of how economies industrialize. His six-stage model did not gain general acceptance, but he did raise the issue of long-term economic development, which directed some economists, at least, toward history.
Read More