Abstract
This article examines the contributions of five eminent economists, all women, to the analysis and practice of development economics. Irma Adelman, Frances Stewart, and Nancy Birdsall are leading advocates of alternative development strategies that focus on poverty alleviation and investment in human capital. Anne Krueger and Alice Amsden stand at the forefront of two opposing camps in a lively and long-lasting debate on the appropriate role of government in trade and industrialization. We use the storied careers of these economists as a vehicle to convey the big picture of how development economics has evolved and which topics have proved durable.