Development and Aid Flashcards
Development
The process of economic and social transformation that encompasses complex cultural and environmental factors, and their interactions
State-Centric Megaprojects
These were focused on countering communism and employed a top-down approach
Example of these were the Marshall Plan starting in 1948 and Japanese Recovery after 1945
These typically include massive public works projects like dams and infrastructure
They were reinforced by international institutions
However they were too focused on the military and tied aid, becoming highly corrupt
Verdict: Usually did not work
Structural Adjustment Programs
These focused on providing power and resources to institutions in a top-down approach
Foundations and ideas that worked in the west were exported to developing states
Instead of aid and military programs, loans were provided with the hope it would circumvent corruption
It focused more on trade and less on government
However, it led to massive unemployment and it was highly unpopular
It had no effect on corruption
Verdict: Usually did not work
Bottom-Up Pluralism
The other two were based on the top-down approach, prioritizing growth
This raised the question – is there more to life?
How does one evaluate the quality of life?
Prior to 1990, quality of life was measured through money, but is quality of life really about earnings, GDP per Capita, or GNP per Capita?
This led a change in thinking from only money to other issues
The idea is that money does not alone improve quality of life or mean greater opportunities
Verdict: Possibly more successful and in current use
What is development focused on now?
A person’s capability to live a “good life” is the set of valuable “beings and doings” to which they have access
Development should be focused on the individual’s abilities to be or do what they like and choose among combinations of alternatives to build that “good life”
The two dimensions of human development
- Directly enhancing human abilities
2. Creating Conditions for Human Development
The “enhancing human abilities” dimension of human development involves three things
- long and healthy life
- knowledge
- decent living standard
The “creating conditions for human development” dimension of human development
- Participation in Political and Community Life
- Environmental Sustainability
3, Human Security and Rights
4, Gender Equality
The Three Elements of Human Development
- Peoples’ lives must improve overall: Avoid assumptions that economic growth means improved living situation
- Opportunities: people must have freedom to live lives that they want and value, as well as the develop the abilities and the chance to use them
- Choices must increase for people: people must have more opportunities but no pressure to act on them
The Primary Goal of Human Development
The primary goals is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy healthy, long, creative lives
The three dimensions of HDI
Health, education, living standards
The four indicators of HDI
- Life Expectancy at Birth
- Mean Years of Schooling
- Expected Years of Schooling
- GNI per Capita
The Pillars of HD
- Productivity
- Equality
- Empowerment
- Sustainability
The productivity pillar of HD
Improving the quality of the population by investing in human capital is a greater contributor of improving productivity
Increasing the quality of human resources increases the productivity that we can achieve through current resources –greater efficiency
The equality pillar of HD
People must enjoy equitable access to opportunities. This requires social institutions that engage in generating more favorable or progressive outcomes, such as redressing unfavorable distribution of assets
