Global Development Flashcards
MODERNISATION THEORY
Describe the different stages of the Rostow Model
Refer to the five stages shown in the image below
What are economic indicators of development and why are they useful?
Favoured method of measuring development 1945-1980
Include:
GNP per capita
GDP per capita
Argued that GNP per capita tells us how economically healthy a society is
Why do some sociologists argue that economic indicators are an unsatisfactory way to mesaure development?
- Some sociologists argue unsatisfactory as:
- Lack of reliability of data
- Much of work in LEDCs is informal/hand to mouth agricultural labour. GNP per capita misses these “invisible economies”
- Does not include illegal activities
- No reference to wealth distribution
- No reference to money transferred out of economies (e.g. to offshore accounts)
- Puts wealth above happiness
What is the HDI?
A composite development indicator
Composed of many parts:
- Life expectancy
- Mean years of schooling
- GNI per capita
Give reasons for why many parts of Africa are considered under-developed
- Famine/malnourishment
- War
- Dictators and corrupt Governments.
- Disease
- Lack of education
- Colonialism
Do Western leaders want LEDCs to develop?
What did Kingsbury argue?
Kingsbury (2004)
- Argued that self interest of MEDCs outweighed any humanitarian purpose
- Development of LEDCs opens up economic markets for MEDC goods
- He argues that countries use aid to increase their ‘sphere of influence’ and is seen as an essential component on the ‘war on terror’
Do Western leaders want LEDCs to develop?
What did Black argue?
- Suggests there was originally a ‘heartfelt political commitment’ to help poor
- Motive for social justice may originate from the wrongdoings of colonial period
- However she acknowledges that these ideas soured by actions of tnc’s and banks
Explain Frank’s Dependency Theory
- It blamed the global capitalist system for ‘the development of underdevelopment’
- Focused on the flow of resources from ‘South’ to the ‘North’. Cheap resources transformed in the ‘North’ in to expensive products e.g. Cheap coffee beans grown in ‘South’ are refined in to expensive coffee powder in the ‘North’
- Argues that the ‘North’ benefits from the ‘South’ being dependent upon it
- Argument that Dependency ranges from the local to the global
- The core countries experience growth by exploiting periphery
- Core could not develop without the periphery remaining underdeveloped
- That to break out from dependency countries in Latin America needed to change economic relationship with ‘North’
What were the key criticisms of Modernisation Theory?
- Development indicators show that the theory has not worked
- Based upon belief that what had worked well in the ‘North’ through the Marshall Plan could work in the ‘South’
- Lack of input from people in ‘South’
- Serious social and environmental impacts
- Funding for modernisation reliant on aid and borrowing. This lead to following issues:
- Growing awareness of constraints and effectiveness of aid
- Countries that had borrowed heavily became heavily indebted
What do neoliberals argue about globalisation?
Referred to as positive globalists they argue:
- Globalisation is an extension of capitalism or ‘free market’
- A free market will lead to economic growth and help eradicate poverty
- Countries adopting free market are developing well e.g. India and China
- The wealth of entrepreneurs will trickle down to the poorest people
- Democracy and spread of western values are essential in a globalised world
Describe the main charecterics of neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a market-driven approach to development which aims to maximise the role of the private business
Key difference to modernisation theory is the shift from Keynesian-style government control to the dominance of the large company
Key charecteristics include
- Privatization
- Cutting subsidies
- Getting rid of ‘parastatal’ institutions
- Cutting state spending
- Cutting taxes
- Free trade and integration into the global economy
What are the key features of Post-Development?
- Experts such as Escobar argue that development was always, unjust, never worked, and now has obviously failed
- Idea that imposing middle class Western lifestyle upon developing countries may neither be realistic or desirable for majority of world
- The actions required to develop will always lead to loss, or extinction, of indigenous culture
- Post-Development are more positive about grassroots and participatory development.
- They see aid as ‘Cultural imperialism’ that poor countries had little means of declining
- They argue that people need to be involved in decision making
Define the term ‘Sustainable Development’
A way of improving people’s standard of living and quality of life without wasting resources or harming the environment
What reasons did Booth give to argue the case for his ‘Theory Impasse’?
Development had failed
No one theory had been proved right.
Modernisation theory could not explain why some countries could not ‘take off’
Dependency Theory could not explain rapid growth of Asian tigers
Rise of postmodernism and recognition that social policy western hegemony
Rise of environmentalism meant some opposition to industrialisation
What are the key features of NGOs?
Key Features of NGOs:
Non-profit making
Part of ‘civil society’
Organisations who want to act together in interests of people
Impartial
Can be local or international
