Volume I, Wealth and Poverty, addresses domestic or internal development problems.

Essays in Development Economics collects many of Jagdish Bhagwati's writings that have established him as a major postwar developmental economist. The selection is diverse and highlights the close relationship and mutual reinforcement in Bhagwati's research between economic theory, empirical validation, and policy debate.

Volume I, Wealth and Poverty, addresses domestic or internal development problems. Its 22 essays are divided into five parts covering Development Theory and Strategy; Economic Structure: Regularities and Explanations; Class Structure, Poverty, and Redistrbution; Technology and Employment; and Eminent Economists: Sketches and Commentary.

Volume 2, Dependence and Interdependence, deals with international or external problems and its 20 essays are in four parts covering North-South Issues; Developmental Strategy: Import Substitution versus Export Promotion; Foreign Assistance; and International Migration and Investment.Within each volume, the essays are topically grouped and preceded by brief introductions by the author discussing his current views of the nature of the contributions and the relationship among them. In several cases, previously unpublished papers or postscripts to previously published papers have been added to round out the sections.