Concept_of_Development.ppt

The Concept of
Development
Definitions, Theories and
Contemporary Perspectives

Definitions of Development
 For almost every writer a different
definition of development exists
 Important to first distinguish between:
 a. Development as a state or condition-
static
 b. Development as a process or course
of change- dynamic

Meaning of Development-Todaro
 Development is not purely an economic
phenomenon but rather a multi-
dimensional process involving
reorganization and reorientation of entire
economic AND social system
 Development is process of improving the
quality of all human lives with three
equally important aspects. These are:

Todaro’s Three Objectives of
Development
 1. Raising peoples’ living levels, i.e.
incomes and consumption, levels of food,
medical services, education through
relevant growth processes
 2. Creating conditions conducive to the
growth of peoples’ self-esteem through the
establishment of social, political and
economic systems and institutions which
promote human dignity and respect
 3. Increasing peoples’ freedom to choose
by enlarging the range of their choice
variables, e.g. varieties of goods and
services

Alternative Interpretations of
Development (Mabogunje)
 Development as Economic Growth-
too often commodity output as opposed
to people is emphasized-measures of
growth in GNP. Note here the persistence
of a dual economy where the export
sector contains small number of workers
but draws technology as opposed to
traditional sector where most people
work and is dominated by inefficient
technology

Development
 Development as Modernization-
emphasizes process of social change
which is required to produce economic
advancement; examines changes in
social, psychological and political
processes;
 How to develop wealth oriented behavior
and values in individuals; profit seeking
rather than subsistence and self
sufficiency
 Shift from commodity to human approach
with investment in education and skill
training

Development
 Development as Distributive Justice-
view development as improving basic
needs
 Interest in social justice which has raised
three issues:
 1.Nature of goods and services provided
by governments
 2. Matter of access of these public goods
to different social classes
 3. How burden of development can be
shared among these classes
 Target groups include small farmers,
landless, urban under-employed and
unemployed

Development
 Development as Distributive Justice-
view development as improving basic
needs
 Interest in social justice which has raised
three issues:
 1.Nature of goods and services provided
by governments
 2. Matter of access of these public goods
to different social classes
 3. How burden of development can be
shared among these classes

Marxist View of Development
 Emphasizes Mode of Production -
elements and activities necessary to
produce and reproduce real, material life
 Capitalist (market economy) mode
depends on wage labor whose labor
power produces a surplus which is
accumulated and appropriated by the
employer-result is often class conflict in
capitalist societies

Neocolonial Dependence Model
 Outgrowth of Marxist thinking-Dos Santos
 Existence of underdevelopment due to historical
evolution of an unequal international capitalist
system of rich country-poor country relations
 Sets up center (developed countries) versus
periphery (developing countries) contrast
 Attempts to become self-reliant and progressive
are surpressed by this relationship
 Moreover certain elites in the developing world
(e.g landlords, entrepreneurs, merchants) enjoy
high incomes, social status and political power
and thus perpetuate inequality and conformity
and are rewarded
 They serve international power groups such as
multi-national firms, assistance agencies (World
Bank) and other agents

Sustainable Development
 Defined as development that is likely to achieve
lasting satisfaction of human needs and
improvement of the quality of life and
encompasses:
 Help for the very poorest who are left with no
option but to destroy their environment to survive
 Idea of self-reliant development with natural
resource constraints
 Cost effective development using different
economic criteria to the traditional –i.e.
development should not degrade environment
 Important issues of health control, appropriate
technologies, food self-reliance, clean water and
shelter for all
 People centered activities are necessary-
human beings are the resources in the concept

Theories of Development
 1940-50s- Keynesian growth theory -
process of capital of formation is
determined by savings and investment
 Domestic savings are chanelled to
productive investments such as
manufacturing which result –usually-in
high productivity
 Growth is market driven as income levels
rise, savings rises and frees capital for
alternative investment

 Modernization Theory -as noted
previously this theory suggests that
economic dimension alone is insufficient
and adds theories on institutional and
social change
 Incorporates non-economic elements such
as social practices, beliefs, values and
customs (McClelland, Achieving Society)
 Diffusion and speed of change is critical as
is removal of various cultural and social
barriers
 Backward internal structures-rather than
external factors-cause underdevelopment

 NeoLiberal Development Theory- grew
in the 1970s and designed to counteract
impact of Keynesianism
 New emphasis on supply side factors in
development- private initiatives and
market led growth
 Move away from demand stimulation
(interest rate manipulation), import
substitution, state intervention and
centralized planning
 Gradual industrialization with ‘trickle down’
of benefits to all social classes

 Popular Development- what is it?
 Avoids ‘grand theories’ and emphasizes
solutions viewed in context of development
which is part of historical process
 Context of development is constantly changing
in scale and time
 Accommodates geographical and historical
diversity
 Theory of little use to practitioners of
development
 Stresses local diversity, human creativity,
process of social change through pragmatism,
flexibility and context
 Not extent of state intervention but comparative
advantages of public and private sectors and
their complementarity

Popular Development and
Environment
 Recognizes high “opportunity costs”
associated with irreversible environmental
damage
 Dealing with environmental problems
requires solutions sensitive to local social
and ecological conditions
 Society and nature relations are affected
by variations in class, gender and ethnicity
 “Reproductive squeeze” forces peasants
to intensify production in fragile
environments

Popular Development, Space and
Place
 Bottom up approaches (as opposed to top-
down) to peoples’ participation are important in
this view
 How are various social groups and classes
affected by rural-urban, core-periphery and
other spatial interactions?
 Growing importance of “decentralization” of
decision-making and authority from center to
periphery

Popular Development and Power
 How does the power structure affect
development?
 Examine sources of empowerment,
inequality and discrimination
 Need to devise more people centered
approaches which stress empowerment
and participation
 Empowerment as participatory
development seeks to engender self-help
and self-reliance but also effective
collective decision-making

What causes
underdevelopment?
 Very easy to focus on characteristics of
development
 For example we know that
underdevelopment is usually
characterized by: low per capita incomes,
low literacy and educational attainment,
lack of basic services- water and power
 But how do we EXPLAIN
underdevelopment?

Some Common ‘Theories”
 Old view that absence of development caused
by certain physical environments, particular
cultural traditions and value systems-
environmental and cultural determinism
 Lack of natural resources certainly impediment
to development but not impossible- example of
Japan
 Why has Japan succeeded?

Reasons for Japanese Success
 Strong cooperation between government
and business
 Able to adapt to spatial-physical situation
and acquire a maritime prowess
 Early development (Meiji restoration) of
transport and banking systems
 Highly literate population
 Niche development- technology driven

Other Common Explanations of
Underdevelopment
 Instability and other adverse internal situations-
political factors
 Some truth to this as extended periods of
turbulence are not conducive to development-
central African nations with tribal rivalries and
ethnic cleansing
 Poor physical environment- lack of rainfall,
poor soils also may pose barriers to
development

Vicious Circles- Gunnar Myrdal
 Complex web of interlocking vicious circles
each of which constitutes a chain of cause and
effect relationships where one unfavorable
circumstance leads to another and produces
downward spiral
 High Birth Rate> Large Families>Low PCI>
Poverty> Low Output Per Worker>
 Low PCI> Low Productivity> Poor
Health>Inadequate Housing
 Remedy > Downward spiral not reversible
without massive aid

Remedy for Vicious Circle
 Aid would stimulate growth in modern
sector and reduce size of ‘informal’ or
traditional sector
 Thus eliminate dualism and the major
causes of unequal distribution of wealth
 Foreign aid would allow countries to
increase low levels of productivity

Another Common Explanation
 Colonialism As Scapegoat
 Attacking vicious circle proponents-do
not explain how these magic circles
come into existence
 Need to view development in historical
perspective as sequence of dynamic
events-explore roots
 Colonialism viewed as the cause of
disintegration and decline- how?

Colonialism as Scapegoat
 Indigenous population exploited
 Traditional way of life and self sufficient
mode of production have been destroyed
 Forced to pay taxes and conscripted
labor practices
 Social differentiation increased-
disintegrating force
 Fatal effects on secondary
(manufacturing) and tertiary (service)
sectors- import of cheap goods forced
indigenous artisans out of work
 Discouraged modern industrialization

Colonialism as Scapegoat cont’d
 Thus what occurred in these situations
was dependent not autonomous
development
 Colonial powers extracted wealth for
home country-Netherlands, France,
Great Britain
 International division of labor (IDL) and
western dominated trading structure was
created to take advantage of colonial
authority
 IDL=allocation of tasks among laborers
such that each one engages in tasks that
he performs most efficiently and this
promotes worker specialization and
productivity

What to Do With Development
Theory ?
 Several theories have been advanced
have been criticized and some also
discredited—to be replaced by other
theories
 Third World is very heterogeneous-
dissimilar in terms of population,
resources, climates, culture , economic
structure and location
 Unlikely that one theory will be powerful
enough to explain underdevelopment
everywhere

What to Say About Development
Theory ?
 Underdevelopment must be seen as a
product of an array of complex and
continuously changing interactions
between:
 1. Past and Present
 2. Natural and Human Environments
 3. External and Internal Conditions
 Multitude of obstacles to development
vary with place and time
 Critical to remember that the above
theoretical ideas aid us in asking
pertinent questions

Concept_of_Development.ppt

More Related Content

Similar to Concept_of_Development.ppt

Recently uploaded

Concept_of_Development.ppt