development glopo

development

a sustained increase in the standard of living and well-being of a level of social organization

orthodox view of development

economic growth

• Link to economic liberalism/neoliberalism

• Income for basic needs / GDP

• Free-market system

alternative view of development

• based on resistance movements in the global South and anti-capitalist and anti-globalization movements

  • Humanistic view

  • Self-reliance (not on wealthy states)

  • Ecological balance / global commons

  • Social/cultural inclusion of marginalized groups

  • Southern consensus = merge of economic growth and state intervention

  • Neomercantilist development - Asian tigers

  • Feminist - women for development

GDP

market value of all final goods and services produced in a country over a year regardless of who owns the factors of production

human development index (HDI)

• a summary measure of long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development:

  • Long & healthy life (life expectancy at birth)

  • Knowledge (expected years of schooling and mean years of schooling)

  • Decent standard of living (GNI per capita at PPP)

gini coefficient + lorenz curve

• a summary of the distribution of income in an economy

  • The further from the ‘Line of Absolute Equality’ the Lorenz Curve is, the more unequal the distribution of income

  • The higher the number, the less equal the distribution of income

happy planet index

• a measure of sustainable well-being that ranks countries on how efficiently they deliver long, happy lives using limited environmental resources

  • 3 domains measured include life expectancy at birth, well-being, and ecological footprint

GNI

measures all national income of residents of a country regardless of where those FOP are located

poverty index

•  an international measure of acute multidimensional poverty covering 100 developing countries

  • Domains measured include deprivations in health, education, and living standards/basic infrastructure services

  • Suggested by the World Bank

SEDA - sustainable development assessment

• diagnostic tool built to objectively measure a country’s sustainable economic growth and citizen well-being, covering three broad categories: sustainability, economics, and investments

  • Sustainability - environment, civil society, governance, and income equality

  • Economics - income, economic stability, employment

  • Investments - Infrastructure, education, health

transparency international corruption index/CPI

ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0-100

modernization theory

• Structural functionalist approach 

• Links global stratification to cultural and technological differences

• Argues that tensions between tradition and technological change are the biggest barriers to growth

• Four stages to development:

  • Traditional Stage - small, local communities with family settings

  • Take-Off Stage - individual talents produce more than mere necessities to promote new markets for trade

  • Drive to Technological Maturity - population growth leads to reductions in absolute poverty levels, giving rise to diverse job opportunities

  • High Mass Consumption - when a country is big enough for production to be more about wants than needs

• Criticisms

  • Supports idea that capitalism = only way to develop

  • Overlooks historical details like how slavery and resource depletion factor into development; Euro-centric

  • Blames less developed nations for not accepting change

dependency theory

• Focus on how poor countries have been wronged by richer nations

• Argue that global stratification starts with colonialism, which resulted in the exploitation of natural and human resources to funnel wealth back to the West

• Global wealth not distributed well

• Immanuel Wallerstein’s ‘capitalist world economy’ 

  • High-income countries = core / manufacturing base of world economy

  • Low-income countries = periphery (natural resources and wealth support wealthy countries)

  • Middle-income countries = semi-periphery w/ closer ties to core

• Criticisms

  • The world economy is NOT a zero-sum game (one country does not get richer if the other gets poorer)

  • Innovation and technological growth can benefit all countries well-being

  • Colonialism itself cannot explain modern economic disparities

  • Foreign investment by richer nations helps (rather than hurts) poorer countries

  • Only blames capitalism, not culture or political regimes, presenting no solutions to poverty

political factors impact on development

• Management Practices

  • Free-market capitalism

  • Socialism

• Political Stability

  • Inter and intra-state conflicts → “development in reverse”

  • Loss of life, forced migration, disease, etc.

  • Disincentivises investments

  • UN High-Level Panel Report

• International relations

economic factors impact on development

• Access to capital, credit, and aid

  • Natural or human capital (building block to foster growth)

  • Microfinance and mobile banking

  • Aid to provide basic services (food, clothing, healthcare)

social factors impact on development

• values cultures + tradition

• gender matters: Expansion of capabilities, good quality human capital, family security

• migration: refugees vs. economic migrants

• efficacy of national + local institutions

institutional factors impact on development

• The World Bank

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• UN

environmental factors impact on development

• Health & well-being

  • Tropical climate and disease

  • Nurtient-rich soil → agricultural prosperity

• Coastal access decreases costs, increases connectivity

• Negative impacts of climate change

  • Rising sea levels

  • Floods

  • Droughts → food insecurity

trade liberalization

opening of the economy to trade and investment from the outside world by eliminating or reducing barriers to international trade like tariffs and quotas

• promotes free trade + increase flow of goods + services between countries

• access provided to larger markets

• increased inequality

• job displacement

• vulnerability to global economic fluctuations

export orientation

an economic strategy focused on producing goods and services primarily for export to foreign markets

• boosts export revenues, enhances competitiveness in international markets, and diversification of economies

• economic growth = foreign exchange earnings = attracts foreign investment

• dependency on external demand = domestic markets vulnerable to ext. shocks

commodity-led growth

•  economic development driven by the export of primary commodities, such as agricultural products, minerals, or oil

  • heavy reliance on the exploitation + export of natural resources for revenues + short-term gains 

  • price volatility, resource depletion, environmental degradation, and limited diversification of the economy

  • susceptible to fluctuations in global commodity markets = badly sustained long-term development.

tourism

movement of people from one place to another within or across borders

• promoted by globalization, cheap transport, and blurred borders → high levels of foreign exchange (currency), investment in infrastructure, and provides revenue for airlines, telecommunications, etc. 

• = low-paying jobs = inhibit development.

entrepreneurship

• process by which an individual or group convert an idea into a business or economic activity

  • econ growth: job opportunities + capital

  • innovation + increase in GNP + foreign currency within country

knowledge economy

• knowledge and intellectual capabilities, or the “production, distribution, and use of knowledge and information”

  • criteria: educated workforce, sound infrastrutcure, entrepreneurship, investment in info + comm. tech, and think tanks/research institutions

circular economy

system devised to ensure that the production process allows for the recycling of materials and products

complementary currencies

accruing foreign currency reserves to promote development and permit advantageous currency manipulation