Test 1

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country’s borders over a specific period of time

• used to measure size, performance, and overall economic health and activities of a country in nominal (current market prices) or real (adjusted for inflation) terms

Gross National Product (GNP)

total monetary value of all final goods and services produced by a countries residents in a specific period of time (usually a year), regardless of whether the production takes place within the country’s borders or not

• measure how much income a country’s citizens generate, both domestically or internationally

imperialism

process through which a state attempts to control the economic and/or political and cultural makeup of another state. Extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force

ex. british imperialism in east asia

Colonialism

the most developed form of imperialism whereby the controlling state invades another state/region, establishing and maintaining colonies for economic exploitation and control

age of exploration

late 1400’s europeans started exploring (christopher colombus)

old imperialism

• 1500s-1700s

• 1600s european countries set up colonies and trading posts in asia, africa and the americas

• trades in goods such as spices and slaves, paid for in silver

• engaged in missionary activities

motivations for old imperialism

political/religious

• colonization is rooted in religious conflict

Economic

• desire for more direct access to goods (gold, spices, textiles and slaves)

new imperialism

begin in 1800s, european countries began a renewed race for colonies

• russia, japan, germany, italy and the US joined the race to colonice non-western parts of the world

motivations for new imperialism

spurred by demand created by the industrial revolution

• new demand for raw materials

• markets for finished goods

• while seeking out raw materials, europeans established their rule on these continents expanding an empire

Economic factors

Political factors

Cultural factors

economic motiviation for imperialism

• by 1880s more euro countries were industrialized

• industries needed: new sources of raw materials (lumber, cotton, rubber, oil and tin), and new markets to sell manufactured goods

• created a cycle of exploitation called triangular trade

political motivation for imperialism

Nationalism

• swept across europe in the 1800s

Ability to dominate other lands increased nation’s prestige

Colonies became a source of pride

• more colonies = more power and prestige

Cultural motivation for imperialism

• nationalist feelings were often mixed with feelings of cultural and racial superiority

• social darwinism: some races are superior to others, the most fit races will win over weaker races

• social darwinism was used to justify imperialism (natural for stronger nations to conquer weaker nations = survival of the fittest)

non-state actors

• european powers granted charters to private companies, entrusting them with significant roles in the colonial process

• tasked with vital but challenging aspect of conquest and infrastructure construction

• held state-like powers for only a decade before being replaced by formal colonial administations

colonial rule impact on indigenous societies

• residential schools, renamed with european names, forbidden to speak their native language, practicing indigenous spirituality was forbidden

colonial european cultural superiority

• euro belief in cultural differences and the superiority of euro peoples was used to justify exploitative economic policies and abusive governance practicies

• social darwinist ideas

colonial movement towards economic development

• in final years of colonial rule, there was movement towards promoting economic development in colonial territories, reflecting s shift in colonial policiies and objectives

impact of colonial rule: exploitation of resources

• colonies were primarily sources of raw materials for colonizing countries

• shift towards cash crop production, often at expense of local food security

• intensive extraction practices, led to long term environmental degradation

impact of colonial rule: infrastructure development

instrastructure primarily served the needs of the colonizers, with minimal focus on local indusrial development

impact of colonial rule: labour and economic policies

indigenous populations often subjected to forced labour harsh conditions

Post WWII shifts in colonialism

The war weakened the euro powers, leading to increased demands for independence

Rise of nationalism in late colonial period

colonized peoples across africa, asia and the caribbean began to assert their right to self-determination

social unrest in late colonial period

growing awareness of inequalities and the harsh realities of colonial rule led to widespread protests and civil disobediance

legacy of colonialism: economic

many post colonial state remain reliant on the export of raw materials, structure established during colonial times

legacy of colonialism: political and institutional

many post colonial states inherited weak institutions, leading to challenges in governance and political instability

legacy of colonialism

colonialism often suppressed indigenous cultures and languages, leading to lasting identity crises and cultural erosion

neo-liberalism

political-economic ideology attempting to improve human well-being by promoting individual self interest. advocates for the withdrawal of government interventions in the economy.

• laissez-faire economics = gov’t stays out of the economy as much as possible

• Thatcher and Reagan

• structural adjustment programs

Structural Adjustment programs

packages of economic policy conditions imposed by the international monetary fund (IMF) and the world bank on developing nations in exchange for financial loans

• austerity: deep cuts to public spending on health, edu and social services

• privitization: selling off state-owned enterprises and utilities to private or foreign investors

• market liberalization: removing price control, trade barriers and gov’t subsidies

• currency devaluation: lowering the value of the national currency to boost exports and shrink trade deficits

impact of industrialization on developed countries

• deindustrialization: decline of trad manufacturing industries in advanced economies

• economic transition: movement towards service-oriented economies and knowledge-based industries

• challenges: issues like unemployment in traditional sectors and economic restucturing

• rapid industrialization: growth of manufacturing and industrial sectors in emerging economies

• economic growth: how industrialization contributes to economic development and poverty reduction

• social and environmental issues: challenges such as labour exploitation, environmental degradation and urbanization pressures

Key ethical considerations of development

1. Equity and Justice

2. Respect for local cultures

3. sustainability

4. participation and empowerment

5. accountability and transparency

Equity and Justice in the context of ethical development

Fair distribution

• ensuring resources, benefits and opportunities are distributed equitably among different social and economic groups

• addressing disparities between wealthy and poorer nations and within communities

Social Justice

• tackling systemic injustices and inequalities (poverty, gender discrimination and racial bias)

• implementing policies to promote social inclusion and reduce inequalities

Respect for local cultures in the context of ethical development

Cultural Sensitivity

• acknowledging and valuing local customs, traditions and knowledge systems

• designing projects that are culturally appropriate and non-intrusive

Avoiding Cultural imperialism

• preventing the imposition of external values or practices that undermine or replace local cultures

• support cultural preservation and promote cultural diversity

Sustainability in the context of ethical development

Economic sustainability

• conserving natural resources that provide physical inputs for economic production, both renewable and exhaustible inputs

Environmental sustainability

• incorporate practices that protect natural ecosystems and reduce carbon footprints

Social sustainability

• promote economic stability and social resislience in communities

Participation and empowerment in the context of ethical development

Community Involvement

• engage local communities in the planning and implementation of development projects

• ensuring that community voices, especially from marginalized groups are heard and values

Empowerment

• Provide tools, resources and opportunities that enable communities to make decisions and take control of their development

• support local leadership and capacity-building efforts

Accountability and Transparency in the context of ethical development

Open governance

• ensure that development orgs and gov’t operate with transparency regarding their actions and decisions

• provide accessible info on project goals, funding and outcomes

Monitoring and evaluation

• implement mechanisms to assess the impact of development projects and address any issues or concerns

• holding stakeholders accountable for their commitments and practices

What is Poverty?

Lack of basic needs including lack of access to shelter, clean water or sanitation, education, health, land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living

Common feature’s/characteristics of poverty

• lack of basic needs - lack of necessities to fulfill a decent standard of living including self dignity

• lack of choice, denial of freedom

• lack of representation, participation and opportunities to fulfill life

Major types of poverty

• absolute poverty

• relative poverty

• moderate poverty

absolute poverty (destitution)

• severe deprivation of basic human needs or goods and services needed to achieve a minimal but sustainable standard of physical wellbeing

• inability to meet basic necessities of daily living - food, shelter, drinking water, sanitation, health, etc

relative poverty

• inequality in location or society in which people live

• being below some relative income threshold, this threshold differs for each society or country

moderate poverty

in between absolute and relative is moderate poverty

Monetary poverty

lack of sufficient financial resources to meet basic needs

Basic needs approach to poverty

• based on the level of resources needed to purchase a family’s basic needs, these items are required for long term physical well-being

• measures material needs for long-term wellbeing, focusing on deprivation of essentials

Sen’s capability perspective

measures poverty in terms of the abscence of some basic capabilities to function - inclusion/participation in community life

Poverty line

• when income falls below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs set by that society

Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) three measures

1. Poverty headcount index

2. the poverty gap index

3. the poverty severity index

Poverty headcount index

Incidence of poverty

• the proportion of the population below the poverty line

number of people below the poverty line / total population

Poverty Gap index

Depth of poverty

• measures how far below the poverty line the poor are

Poverty Severity index

Gives greater weight to the poorest individuals, capturing inequality among the poor

• intensity of poverty, measure of the overall welfare loss in a population

Multidimensional poverty index

• composite measure that captures multiple deprivations faced by individuals in areas like health, education and living standards

Human development index (HDI)

composite measure of a country’s average achievements in three key areas: heatlh (life expectancy), education (years of schooling and expected years of schooling), standard of living (income per capita). Social indicators are key in assessing a countries level of development

sustainable development goals

collection of global goals set by the UN in 2015 as a call to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity for all by 2030

why measure poverty

1. guide for policy makers

2. dev’t professionals, govt, NGOs and activists want to monitor progress and failure in poverty reduction - promotion of dev’t

3. to gauge the extent to which we are fulfilling our obligations of fellow citizens

problems with GPD/GNP measurments

• averages: tell us nothing about how GDP is distributed by region, class, gender and ethnicity

• GDP implies development can be measured in money terms: omits other human activities that have value (reproductive labour)

• tells us nothing about QoL: other societal indicators are ignored

Poverty vs inequality

poverty: absolute deprivation of resources

inequality: pertains to relative disparities in wealth and opportunities

Gini Coefficient

measure that quantified the degree of income or wealth inequality within a population, with a higher value indicating greater inequality

inequality of outcome

describes the disparities in material wealth, income and living conditions that exist between individuals or groups within a society

• refers to final differences in wealth, status or resutls

inequality of opportunity

occurs when ppl face unequal starting points or unfair barriers

Purchasing power parity (PPP)

World bank’s GDP per capita indicator

• useful for comparing levels of development

• measures improvement and deterioration in levels of development

• volatility of growth rates in developing countries

• stable growth rates in developed countries

Social Capital

extent to which individuals are willing to cooperate in the pursuit of shared goals thought to be essential to the development of a civic and democratic culture

impact of imperialism in africa (scramble for africa)

• european faith in essential cultural differences and in the superiority of euro peoples

• colonial powers created arbitraty divisions among locals

• colonial powers’ ambivalent commitment

• late promotion of economic development

The Marshall Plan

• multilateral aid and trade deal financed by the US, passed by congress in 1948

• helped to restore the euro economies that were devestated by WWII

Bretton Woods

• international conference and the global monetary system it created to stabilize world trade and finance after WWII

• prevent repeat of great depression and competitive currency devaluations that led to global conflict

• system of fixed exchange rates b/w countries to promote financial stability and international trade

• all national currencies fixed the value of their money to the US dollar, was backed by gold until 1971 when US went off the gold standard

Capability approach

Amartya Sen

• capability approach addresses poverty as “the deprivation of basic capabilities rather than merely as lowness of incomes”

• it operates on the basis that one has the substantive freedoms - the capabilities - to choose a life that one has reason to value

• ex. affluent person who is fasting has the same functioning achievement in terms of eating as a destitute person who is forced to starve. but they have a different capability set

Millennium Development goals

8 international targets set in sept 2000 to improve living standards and reduce extreme poverty worldwide by 2015

• United Nations

Deficit based

focus on identifying and servicing needs and limitations/liabilities of the community

causes of poverty

• social

• economic

• political

• increasing inequality

• conflict/violence

• weak institutions

• unfair global trade systems

• access to tech

Berlin conference

established rules for division of africa among euro nations in 1884-85

• no african leaders present

Multidimensional poverty index (MPI)

• captures info at the household level rather than national level

• includes info on the same 3 domains in the HDI (education, health and living standards)

• MPI poverty rate reflects the proportion of people living in households that do not meet a threshold

• high MPI = bad, low MPI = good

Monetary approach vs multidimensional approach to poverty

• Monetary: focuses solely on income levels

• Multidimensional: broader factors like education, health and living standards

John Freidman

believed development should be about the people, sustainable development should be in the terms of participation, collaboration, partnership and equity

• sustainable development

Charles Darwin

English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best know for his contributions to the science of evolution

• origin of species, evolutionary thought

• social darwinism

Adam Smith

scottish economist, philosopher and author. pioneer of political economy and key figure during the scottish enlightenment. also know as “father of economics” “father of capitalism”

• unregulated economic competition would maximize profits

Mahatma Gandhi

indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist. eployed non violent resisitance to lead successful campaign for india’s independence from british rule

• ethical and moral considerations w/o sacrificing goal orientation

Amartya Sen

well known for the capability approach: made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, social justice, economic theories of famines and measures of well-being in countries

• increase in individuals substantive freedoms/capability approach and human rights based approach

Walt Rostow

American economist. Said that economic development done in the western industrialized countries could be replicated in the developing world by applying a five stage model.

Harry Truman

US president. Formalized the project of international development, “collapse of european empires are creating an undeveloped world that was in desparate need of a program of development”

Stages of colonialism (15th-19th C)

Before 15th century

• “age of exploration”

• really began centuries ago along the silk road

Early 15th C

• colonization by spanish and portugese

• spurred by politics, economics and religion

16-18th C

• Imperialism by english, french and dutch

• “great power” competition

Late 19th c

• colonization as conquest, occupation via social destruction and international economic markets w/ national sentiment among unified states

• “high” imperialism in africa - Italy and belgium also entered the scene

Poverty discourse 1950-2000

1950-60

• economic growth and trickling theory = reduce poverty => led to further inequality

1970s

• health, nutrition, education = promote growth in incomes, employment

1980s

• neoliberal reduction in gov’t spending on social service

• increased poverty, structural adjustment programs

1990s

• knowledge of target population and survival strategies

• poverty audit and pyramid, poverty reduction strategies and frameworks

2000s

• diverse, multidisciplinary approaches

• UN MDGs, SDGs. Target areas: education, women’s equality, child mortality, maternal health, disease, environmental sustainablity, global partnership for development