AGB 111: FUNDAMENTALS OF DEVELOPMENT
INTRODUCTION
Definition
There are numerous definitions of the term development, however it is important to distinguish development as a state or condition that is static and development as a process or course of change that is dynamic.
The term “development’ has been given various definitions.
Development has been defined as a tool enabling people to reach the highest level of their ability, by granting them freedom of action, by this we mean freedom of economic, social and family actions. This approach formed a basis for the measurement of the Human Development Index and the empowerment of women in the field of gender.
On the other hand, development has been viewed as the tool that identifies poverty traps such as civil wars, natural resources, poverty itself and relating them to political,-economic-social conditions in a country in an attempt to advance development itself.
Development is also defined as improvement in a country's economic and social conditions. more specifically it refers to improvement in ways of managing an area's natural and human resources in order to create wealth and improve people's lives.
development can also be defined as a progressive series of changes that occur in an orderly predictable pattern as a result of maturation and experience.
It is also defined as an improvement, qualitative, quantitative or both in the use of available resources
. Development does not relate to a single viewpoint on social, political or economic progress but rather is a hybrid word for a variety of Tactics used to transform social economic and environmental conditions from the existing to desired one.
Development is also viewed as a procedure that leads to growth advancement, positive change or the extension of physical, economic, environmental, societal and demographic paths. The purpose of development is to raise or improve the standard of living and quality of life as well as to establish or expand local ,regional income and job possibilities while at the same time protecting the environment resources. Development is observable and beneficial although it is a process that takes time.
Development is a process that creates growth, progress, positive change or the addition of physical, economic, environmental, social and demographic components. Development could also be taken to mean the culture which governs the attitude and the ways of thinking of the people who would be dealing with the proposed development strategies.
The concept of development
Development is basically an economic concept.From an economic perspective development is a multi-faceted process through which economic growth leads to the eradication of poverty and inequality. Development should be considered as progress towards multidimensional goals such as poverty alleviation, employment generation in equality reduction and protection of Human Rights.
The purpose of development is to raise the level and quality of life of the population, and the creation or expansion of local, regional income and employment opportunities, without damaging the resources of the environment.
It has to do with the application of certain Economic and technical measures to use available resources to start or encourage economic growth and improve people's quality of life.
Development is a comprehensive social process to move the underdeveloped nations from the state of economic backwater and slow social cultural change to a dynamic date that is characterized by sustained economic growth and socio-cultural and political transformations that improves the quality of life of all members of society.
As such people become the major agents of development and the main beneficiaries of change produced by it. Development involves every aspect of the society and gauges everyone it engages such as the Market, government, NGOs ,cooperative and other not-for-profit institutions. iIn other words, to achieve its development objectives any development strategy has to view development as a comprehensive process that encompasses all aspects of life and involves all the social, cultural, Economic and political actors in Society .
Traditional agricultural societies relied heavily on agriculture however to build modern economies they need to depend less on Farming the land and more on manufacturing and services. In this regard we could say that economic development is a societal process to move people and the economic and social structure that is cultural political and educational institutions from the agricultural Age into the industrial age while ensuring that the challenges, the sacrifices and benefits of development are shared equally by all members of society.In other words we could say that development may only be achieved when Society acquires a capacity to utilize its human and natural resources efficiently to improve the quality of life for all citizens
Since development is comprehensive in nature,It seeks to improve conditions in ways that help free people and their creative energies from all constraints. it enables people to pursue personal goals in a legitimate political and legal framework. These frameworks guarantee equality of opportunity, fairness, freedom and social justice.We could see therefore that development is a vision and a programme. It is a vision to create a new much improved conditions of life and it is a program to transform economic, political and social cultural conditions to match the envisioned Vision. Before undertaking any work on development a well figured strategy that defines the goals society seeks to achieve, that identifies the obstacles it faces and acknowledges the sacrifices society has to make must be articulated.
A development strategy is a set of plans and program to reach certain economic, political, cultural, educational and social goals seen as desirable.
THE OBJECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT
Economic development
Economic development is a process aiming at the Promotion of the real national income of a country. it refers to the better utilization and improvement of the resources in the production process in different sectors of underdeveloped countries. underdeveloped countries choose different objectives and initiate development for realizing the objectives.
Objectives of economic development
1 increase in the level of national income. The level of national income could be raised by increasing the quantity and quality for various goods and services.
2 increase in the investment.
investment must be made in all important sectors. Investment in unimportant consumption sectors should be discouraged. When investments are made on a larger scale it is recommended that productive activities are carried out.
3 provision of employment
Economic development aims at eliminating the unemployment problem. Qualified, talented, efficient and hard-working persons must be provided employment in different spheres of productive activity. Self employment schemes, rural electrification, roads and communications and transport need to be adopted for overcoming unemployment especially in under developed countries.
4 removal of poverty.
Economic development also aimed at removing poverty and provision of social justice for all. when the poorest persons in underdeveloped countries are provided with minimum needs like food, shelter, clothing, medicine, power could be removed. programmes such as decentralization of economic power, nationalization of key Industries, adoption of a progressive taxation could be implemented sincerely and honestly to alleviate poverty.
5 self-reliance.
Every country wants to achieve self-reliance and self-sufficiency in all matters. This could be achieved in all sectors when economic development takes place. Exports will increase and imports will be minimized.
Socio-economic development
Socio-economic development refers to the transformation of a society with regard to social and economic development. Socio-economic development therefore is the process of social and economic development in a society. It is measured with indicators such as gross domestic product(GDP), life expectancy, literacy and levels of employment.
Objectives of socio-economic development
1 Income and employment generation for vulnerable groups, including in agriculture,
infrastructure, rehabilitation and development, including housing solutions
3 The realization of the country’s human potential.
jTHE PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT
Economic development is often seen as a process of institutional change by putting attention on the interplay between development agents and the distribution of wealth .Poor agents of development choose working for wage instead of self employment while the wealthy agents of development become entrepreneurs who look after workers. It can be said therefore that only when there is great inequality will there be employment contracts, otherwise, there is self-employment or subsistence.
Development is a process that creates growth, progress, positive change or the addition of physical, economic, environmental, social and demographic aspects.
There is a realization that entrepreneurship is at the center of high and stable economic growth that constitutes prosperity. Entrepreneurship has been recognised as the height of the hierarchy that determines the behavior of any business firm. Therefore,entrepreneurship has a heavy responsibility for the vitality of the Free Enterprise Society .Entrepreneurship is responsible for the structural transformation of countries from low-income and primary sector based societies into high-income service and technology based societies. It is also responsible for high innovation-driven growth.
THE THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT
Development theoriesAre about understanding the process of how change in Society takes place. Since the idea of development in relation to societies refers to a process of change, development theories therefore are about understanding how this process takes place.
The four main theories of development are dependency, modernization , world systems, and globalization.
1 Dependency Theory
Dependency Theory is a model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of the historical exploitation of poor Nations by Rich ones. dependency theory asserts that people living in poor countries were actually better off economically in the past than their Descendants are now. The proponents of dependency Theory argue that the Colonial process that helped develop a rich nation also underdeveloped poor Society. This theory is based on the idea that the economic position of rich and poor Nations of the world are linked together by the global economy.
2 World system Theory
World system theory explains that a country's mode of incorporation into the capitalist world economy is a key feature in determining how economic development takes place in that nation. According to World system Theory, the capitalist world economy is a global system divided into a hierarchy of three major types of Nations which are core states, the semi-peripheral areas and peripheral areas. The prosperity or poverty of any country is the product of a global economic system. The world economy benefits rich societies and harms the rest of the world. The world economy makes poor nations dependent on the rich ones. This dependency is by
1. Narrow Export-oriented economies.
2.Lack of industrial capacity.
3.Foreign debt.
3 Globalization Theory
Globalization is the integration of the political, economic and cultural activities of geographically and 4 nationally separated peoples. The term globalization also means adopting a global outlook for the business and business strategies directed at improving global competitiveness and mutual interdependence among the economies of different countries.
It is a multi-dimensional concept that refers to the transformation of trade technology
industry and economy in a universalizing direction.
Features of globalization
Features of globalization include, growing worldwide interconnections, rapid discontinuous change, growing numbers and diversity of participants, greater managerial complexity and growing inequalities.
Economic characteristics of globalization
1 Increase in international trade at a faster rate
2 Increase in international flow of capital including foreign direct investment.
Erosion of national sovereignty and national borders through international agreements leading to organizations like the WTO and OPEC.
3 Development of global financial systems.
4 Increase in the share of the world economy by multinational corporations.
5 Increased role of international organizations such as WTO WIPOand IMf.
6 Development of a global telecommunication infrastructure and data flow.
7 Increase in the number of standards applied globally.
8 Formation or development of a set of universal values.
9 promotion of free trade and free trade zones.
10 Reduction or elimination of tariffs and construction of free trade zones.
11 Reduction and elimination of subsidies for local businesses.
12 Intellectual property restrictions.
Cultural characteristics of globalization.
1 Greater international cultural exchange.
2 Spreading of multiculturalism and better individual access to cultural diversity.
3 Greater international travel and tourism.
4 Greater immigration including illegal immigration.
5 Spread of local foods such as pizza and Indian food to other countries often adapted to local change.
Growing inequalities in globalization
Global inequality refers to the unequal distribution of resources among individuals and groups based on their position in the social hierarchy.
Globalization polarization, wealth creation concentration and marginalization are linked through the same process.
Causes of global inequality are
Religious inequality
Gender inequality new line in equality in the workplace
In Equality in wealth and income new line and employment
Social inequalities
Educational inequalities
Poverty new Lines
Growing inequalities in developed and underdeveloped countries
Developed Nations
A higher per capita income and GDP growth rate leads to a higher standard of living.
Industrial or secondary sector and service sectors are predominant.
Resources such as natural and human resources are properly utilized and highly advanced capital intensive techniques are used in production.
Therefore productivity is high.
There is a narrow gap between the rich and the poor.
Underdeveloped countries
A low per capita income leads to a low standard of living
Poverty is existent wildly new line agricultural or the primary sector is predominant new line resources are underutilized and traditional techniques are used in production of agricultural farming.
There for productivity is low
The gap between the rich and the poor is wide
4 Modernization Theory
Modernization Theory suggests that traditional societies will develop as they adopt more modern practices. Proponents of modernization theory claim that modern states are wealthier and more powerful and that their citizens are free to enjoy a higher standard of living.
The four stages of modernization theory
The four essential stages of modernisation theory are
1 traditional Society,
2 take- off,
3 Maturation,
4 mass consumption and mass production.
Characteristics of modernisation theory.
Mass communication
literacy and education
Industrialisation
Urbanization
Secularization
- Teacher: Lecturer Mary Nkonge