Development

Development

a process of sustained improvement in the quality of life of individuals and societies, often accompanied by improved economic growth and technological advancements

Globalizaton

those processes that have contributed and continue to contribute to an increasingly interconnected world and the interdependence among countries, regions, and peoples due to the integration of trade, culture, finance, people and ideas in a global marketplace

sustainable development

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Rostow's Stages of Development

A model of economic development that describes a country's progression which occurs in five stages transforming them from least-developed to most-developed countries; Traditional; Pre conditions for take off; take off to self-sustained growth; the drive to maturity; age of mass-consumption.

Rostow's Modernization Model

Developed in the 1950s, this model exemplifies the liberal development ideology, as opposed to structuralist theory, Under the model, all countries develop in a five-stage process. The development cycle is initiated by investment in a takeoff industry that allows the country to grow a comparative advantage, which sparks greater economic gain that eventually diffuses throughout the country's economy. Drawbacks to this model include its not identifying cultural and historic differences in development trajectories because it is based on North American and western European development histories.

capability theory (Amartya Sen & Martha Nussbaum)

theoretical framework about well-being, development, and justice. It claims that the freedom to achieve well-being is of primary moral importance and is to be understood in terms of people's capabilities, that is, their real opportunities to do and be what they have reason to value. It suggests that the simple provision of human rights is insufficient if the human does not have the opportunity to enact those rights

Capitalism

an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state; economic life is organized by market principles

Neoliberalism

A strategy for economic development that calls for free markets, balanced budgets, privatization, free trade, and minimal government intervention in the economy.

Washington Consensus

An array of policy recommendations generally advocated by developed-country economists and policy makers starting in the 1980s, including trade liberalization, privatization, openness to foreign investment, and restrictive monetary and fiscal policies.

Environmentalism

A social movement dedicated to protecting the earth's life support systems for us and other species-ranges from mainstream & reformist greens that seek to balance economic growth with sustainable practices to more radical views (radical greens, eco-feminists, eco-anarchists, and deep ecologists)

Dependency Theory

the notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and underdeveloped states to a "core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former (may be articulated in terms of colonialism or neo-colonialism,

GDP

Gross Domestic Product- the total market value of all final goods and services produced annually in an economy - a common way to measure development

GNI (Gross National Income)

The value of the output of goods and services produced in a country in a year, including money that leaves and enters the country - also a common way to measure a country's development

HDI (Human Development Index)

Indicator of level of development for each country, constructed by United Nations, combining income, literacy, education, and life expectancy - outgrowth of

Amartya Sen's notion of capabilities theory

Cato Model of sustainable development

a model of development in which both economic and social growth or development are EMBEDDED inside environmental sustainability

Political Factors

the decisions and actions taken by government and non-government actors that impact development - such as conflict, ideological systems (an authoritarian regime vs. a liberal democracy, social capitalism vs. enterprise capitalism, governance accountability and transparency - corruption)

Economic Factors

factors such as access to capital, credit and aid monies that have an impact on a state's development

Social Factors

factors such as values, cultures, and traditions - gender norms, migration, efficacy of national and local institutions - that affect development in a country

Environmental Factors

issues relating to the environment that may affect a country's development - e.g. climate change, access to resources, access to coasts (ports), etc.

Relative income inequality

Comparing the percentage of total income that each population quintile enjoys - often measured by the GINI coefficient or GINI Index

Absolute income inequality

The amount of money earned by different groups in society (i.e., differences are conceptualized in monetary terms)

SDGs

Sustainable Development Goals - a series of 17 goals that set out to achieve an improved quality of life - different from the MDGs (a set 8 goals that reflected human capabilities approach)

Inequality in Development

Analyzing how the state of being unequal (in terms of wealth, access to opportunities) can both be defined and measured between nations as well as within nations and groups and how this affects the development trajectories of different people

Global Poverty Line of World Bank & SDGs

2.15$/day - however this is contested by many, such as Hickel, as being too low a measurement (as in people who live at this line are still way too poor to achieve any quality of life and that the line should be much higher - such as 5 or even 7$ a day)

Gini Coefficient

A measure of income inequality within a population, usually at the national scale ranging from zero for complete equality, to one if one person has all the income (the index measures between 0 and 1 - with the lower scores meaning greater equality - e.g. Scandinavian countries have measurements around 0.28 - Denmark, and less equal countries, like South Africa, have a score of 0.63)

Monopoly power of corporations

Oxfam paper that looks at the growing concentration of wealth in the hands of a few super wealthy corporations at the global level which fuels inequality (achieved through privatizing public services, rewarding wealth not work, dodging taxes, at more)

Solutions to inequality

Strengthening state and public services, regulating corporations, revitalizing businesses that do not put shareholders first (per Oxfam)

National poverty lines

A monetary threshold below which a person's minimum basic needs cannot be met, taking into account the country's economic and social circumstances - set by an individual country

Paul Spicker definition of Poverty

looks at material needs and peoples access to them, economic circumstances, and social "class" or the extent to which social exclusion occurs because of class

absolute poverty

the point at which a household's income falls below the necessary level to purchase the minimum requirements necessary to sustain its members - about meeting basic needs

relative poverty

poverty defined according to the living standards of the majority in any given society - in other words, people who are deprived of the living conditions and amenities customary to many others in their society

Factors affecting development

a series of social, institutional, environmental, political and economic factors have resulted in a global development gap between nations but also occurs within nations

Haiti Case Study

multiple factors severely impacting the development of the country of Haiti

Dependency Theory/World Systems Theory

Dependency theory (a neo-marxist approach) highlights the extent to which, in the post-1945 period, traditional imperialism gave way to neo-colonialism, sometimes viewed as "economic imperialism" or, more specifically, "dollar imperialism". Despite enjoying formal independence and sovereignty, developing world states continued to be subject to economic dependency, through for instance, unequal trade relations, the impact of TNCs and biases within bodies such as the IMF and the World Bank that favor the interests of industrially advanced states.

The other key neo-Marxist sub-tradition is world systems theory which portrays the world economy as an interlocking whole, composed of core, peripheral and semi-peripheral areas. In this, economically advanced and politically stable core areas dominate and exploit peripheral areas that are characterized by low wages, rudimentary technology, and a dependence on agriculture or primary production.

Case Studies of critical views on development

Bangladesh (gender empowerment), Ghana (success but still being exploited by neo-colonial structures) and critical views of the SDGs

Botswana Case Example

contrasting example to Haiti for factors affecting development

Limitarianism (Ingrid Robeyns)

the claims that there should be an upper limit to the amount of money that an individual can rightfully hold - based on claims and that this limiting of wealth limit can lead to positive outcomes for others in society and that the concentration of extreme wealth leads to poorer outcomes for society

Institutional Factors

the key role that institutions, such as IGOs (UN, World Bank, IMF), NGOs, the private sector and other governments play in development - mobilize funding, set policies and guidelines, set goals, help with monitoring, guide governments and more