This book highlights the importance of time and timing in economic and social development. ‘Compressed development’ consists of two key features and their interaction: the tendency for development processes to unfold more rapidly (compression) and the institution-shaping influences of major periods of change and growth, especially when countries become integrated into the global economy (era). Using an interdisciplinary conceptual framework of state–market and organization–technology co-evolution, the authors contrast the experiences of ‘early’ and ‘late’ developers such as the United Kingdom and Japan, with countries–most notably China–which have become more deeply integrated with the global economy since the 1990s. Compressed developers experience ‘thin industrialization’, layered types of employment, and ‘double burdens’ or challenges in social development. National development strategies must accommodate global value chains and powerful international actors on the one hand, and decentralization on the other. To cope, and thrive, states must remain developmental, whilst being increasingly engaged and adaptive in multiple levels of governance. Compressed Development explores the historical and contemporary features of economic and social development at the intersection of development studies and studies of globalization. By bringing a new perspective on the ‘middle-income trap’, as well as the emerging digital economy, and the state–market and geopolitical tensions that are currently upending conventional wisdoms, the book offers timely insights that will be useful, not only for students of development, but for policymakers, business, and labour organization seeking to navigate the rushing currents of contemporary capitalism.