There is general disillusionment amongst academics concerned with development studies with the results of two decades of sustained attempts to stimulate economic development and economic planning in the developing countries. In recent literature this has been blamed partly on weaknesses in the theory of development economics and the irrelevance of much of economic theory as produced by rich countries, and partly on the failure of economists and planners to understand fully the political and social realities of the poor countries. This mood of pessimism is compared with the perceptions of generalist administrators from the developing countries participating in courses in public administration in the University of Manchester, and their understanding of the currently fashionable policies of self‐reliance and a search for indigenous solutions.