Concept of Development

CARIBBEAN STUDIES

Brandt Line (North- south divide)

OBJECTIVES

To describe the concept of sustainable development and economic development.

To identify the indicators of development.

To explain how various indicators of development are measured.

To assess development in the Caribbean

DEFINING DEVELOPMENT

Economic Development: the ability of a country to advance economically from a simple low income economy to a modern high income economy

Development is referred to as the sustained level of economic and social well being in a country.

GROWTH VS DEVELOPMENT

Economic growth is not growth that equals development.

Growth occurs whenever statistics show economic increase.

Development occurs only when, along with economic growth, there is evidence of increased human well being and environmental preservation

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

DEFINING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Development that meets the need of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs .( Brundtland :1992)

It contains within it two concepts:

The concepts of ‘needs’ in particular the essential needs of the worlds poor

The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs

DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

Definition:

Usually a numerical measure of quality of life in a country.

Indicators are used to illustrate progress of a country in meeting a range of economic, social, and environmental goals.

Since indicators represent data that have been collected by a variety of agencies using different collection methods, there may be inconsistencies among them.

ECONOMIC (MEASURES) INDICES OF DEVELOPMENT

Gross National Product and Gross Domestic Product

Industrialization

Purchasing Power Parity

Employment Level

Level of local and Foreign Debt

EXAMPLE: GNP/GDP

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

The value of output produced within a country during a time period

GNP – Gross National Product

The value of output produced within a country plus net property income from abroad

GDP/GNP per head/per capita

Takes account of the size of the population

Real GDP/GNP

Accounts for differences in price levels in different countries

NON ECONOMIC INDICES(MEASURES) OF

DEVELOPMENT

Human Development Index

Gender development Index

Life Expectancy

Levels of education

Ratio of doctors to population

Urbanisation

EXAMPLE : HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX

HDI – A socio-economic measure

Focus on three dimensions of human welfare:

Longevity – Life expectancy

Knowledge – Access to education, literacy rates

Standard of living – GDP per capita: Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT

1. Levels of income

2. Productivity

3. Social and Economic Equalisation

4. Modern Knowledge

5. Improved Institutions and attitudes

6. Environmental Factors

Increased freedom

PRODUCTIVITY

The amount of output per unit of input.

It relates to efficiency and cost effectiveness in the production of goods and services

A ratio to measure how well an organisation or industry or country converts input resources into goods and services

MODERN KNOWLEDGE

It refers to the influence of modernizing institutions such as schools and factories which are thought to promote urban , industrialized societies.

Such knowledge emphasizes

Efficiency

Cost effectiveness

Rationality

Logic

Planning and organizational skills

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EQUALIZATION

This refers to the difference between social classes in terms of income earned and the quality of life experienced.

Equality is difficult to achieve in the region because of historical circumstances and political realities

Inequality is maintained as historically poor people were able to access social mobility and move towards wealth redistribution through education.

INCREASED FREEDOM

Increasing peoples freedom by enlarging the range of their choice variables by increasing varieties of consumer goods and services.

It also includes

Political freedom

Rule of law

Freedom of expression

equality of opportunity

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY INDEX

The data sets cover a diverse range of variables such as

ambient pollution

emissions of pollutants

impacts on human health and

being a signatory to international agreements

PROS AND CONS OF INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT

The advantages of development indicators and indices rest in the reason why they are created in the first place – to simplify complexity.

any indicator/index is only as good as the data upon which it is built. Data sets can be poor quality as well as good quality and there may well be gaps.

There is also the hiding of intra-country variation to consider. These may be consideration between urban and rural populations, for example, or between different regions. Some variables may also change dramatically during the year – air pollution for example.

PROS AND CONS OF INDICATORS OF DEVELOPMENT

An indicator/index is a product of the person(s) who created it. This is obvious when stated but the ramification is that there is potential for human bias.