Colonial legacy Flashcards
what are 3 ways in which countries may be grouped?
- economy (income per capita)
- demographics (dependency ratio)
- social features (income inequalities, poverty, health, education…)
what are indicators of a weak economic structure?
- sectoral imbalance (dependence on agricultural/primary resources)
- high dependence on exports (volatile)
what is the demographic transition model?
interrelation between birth rates and death rates and different stages of a society
- first stage = both almost same and high
- middle stages = birth much higher than death
- last stage = both almost same and low
what are different views on what development is?
- post-war view (1 dimension) (traditional)
- 2 dimensions
- multidimensional (Sen)
what does the post-war/traditional view argue on what development is?
- development = economic growth
- capital accumulation -> investment -> productivity -> wealth
- economic growth = structural change (agricultural sector -> industry and services sectors)
- optimistic
- trickle down theory to eradicate poverty
according to the post-war/traditional view of development, what are some factors that affect economic growth?
- human agency (savings, innovation, entrepreneurship)
- culture (risk avert and saving vs. innovation and consumption)
what are criticisms of the traditional/post-war view on development?
- 1 dimensional - only focused on economy
- level of analysis focuses only on states
- ignores: welfare, wealth distribution, politics, freedom..
response: Seers
What does Seers respond as his view on development?
- development as a realization of humans’ potential
- normative conception (reduces poverty, inequality, unemployment)
- basic needs approach (focus on poverty reduction)
- econ growth -> inequality and poverty persisting
- look at gini coefficient and Kuznet’s curve
what is Kuznet’s curve?
relationship between income per capita and income inequality
/-\
as income per capita increases, there will be an increase in income inequality (in a developing economy); but if income per capita increases past a certain threshold, it will cause a decrease in income inequality
what does the 2 dimensional view on development argue?
Rosling
1) income (wealth) + (2) health (quality of life, life expectancy
what does the 3 dimensional view on development argue?
Amartya Sen
- development = expansion of human capability (freedom to achieve valuable functioning)
- 2 types of freedom: substantive and instrumental
- substantive: expansion of capabilities (free agency)
- instrumental: political and econ rights, social opportunities, transparency…
- influenced HDI (focus on welfare)
what is the Human Development Index
- influenced by Amartya Sen
- composite index
- 3 indicators:
a. income per capita
b. life expectancy
c. education years
how did the theories of development evolve over time?
- 1950s-1970s: modernization theory
criticised by dependency theory > - 1980s-1990s: neoliberalism globalization
criticised by alternative development (anti-globalism) - 1990s-present: inclusive liberalism; neo-developmentalism
criticised by sustainable dev; post-development
what development policies generally evolved and emerged over time?
1950s-1970s: post-war development project
1970s-1990s: washington consensus
1990s-present: augmented/post-washington consensus
what classifications can be used for development theories?
- individualism (agency) vs. structuralism (system) (unequal relations, social and econ structures) … to catch up/develop
- endogenous vs. exogenous factors
- epistemological: positivist (empirical, falsifiable theories) vs critical/post-modern (interests and power of world actors)
- top-down state planning (large-scale, technical) vs. bottom-up grassroots (political, small-scale) to achieve dev
what are the instruments of colonial powers
- forced labour
- taxation
- land appropriation
- trade control (monopolies + protection)
- destroying local industries
what are the goals of colonial powers
- gain access to natural resources
2. accumulate wealth
what are the consequences of colonial powers attempting to gain access to natural resources and wealth?
- repressive and destructive
- impoverishment (taxation and expropriation)
- oppression (no rights and freedom)
- genocide
- discrimination
what are the 3 legacies of colonialism?
- economic legacy
- language and cultural legacy
- political legacy
what is the economic legacy of colonialism?
- economy dominated by primary sector and exports
- destroying and constraining local industries
- infrastructure reflecting colonial trade patterns (ports)
result = distorted economy (externally-oriented)
what is the legacy of colonialism on language and culture
- dominant language of the colonizers
- only elite educated
- cultural linkages with colonial power
- promoted either assimilation vs respect of local culture
what is the legacy of colonialism on politics?
- drawn borders by colonial powers; not along ethnic boundaries (difficulty in national identities)
- local and indigenous political institutions undermined (created distrust culture)
- extractive institutions (repressive institutions -> poverty -> state failure) (Why Nations Fail)
- depended on type of colonialism (exclusive or inclusive ish like providing edu)
how does ageing in a society cause a change in society?
the dependency ratio of a country’s demographic
not/before ageing population: looks like pyramid
ageing/after population: \ _ /
