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The aim of this book is to examine the role played by livestock in the agricultural and rural economies of the developing world. It provides a comprehensive study of livestock development within the framework of modern economic theory. In the first part of the book, an analytical framework is developed for explaining how the functions of livestock change in the course of economic development. Farm household theory is used to explain the role of livestock in an agri-analytical perspective, while the theory of induced technical change is applied to explain typical patterns of change in livestock farming from a macro-economic perspective. Both at the micro- and macro-level, this framework is extended by an application of concepts of the new institutional economics, including property rights analysis, agency theory, transaction cost economies and the analysis of institutional change. On the basis of this body of theory, the book shows how typical patterns and critical phases in livestock development can be explained. Historical examples both from Europe and the US are used to illustrate the theoretical argumentation.