2021

CRITICAL REVIEW ESSAY

SUBMITTED TO: MA’AM EMY RUTH

D. GIANAN
SUBMITTED BY: PAMELA L. SUSON
2 BSA 1
2/14/2021
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All countries aspire something that will bring the best conditions for its economy and
mainly for its people. Development, however, is still hard to achieve despite our intensive
desires to attain one. Nancy Birdsall, Sen, and Walden Bello discussed definitions, ways for
attainment, and representation of development in their published journals in 2005, 1991, and
2013, respectively. Regardless of differences in backgrounds, the authors all managed to
examine development with variables that relate and vary from one another. Little by little,
concepts of development are hardly examined throughout the text where discussions became a
tool for general realization that development indirectly built by developed nations, becoming an
ideal and common standard around the world, can create and pressure poverty.

With regards to Birdsall’ written article, wealthy nations itself has been a burden to poor
countries and this statement may mean that general standards of development experienced by
rich countries pressure those who are underdeveloped. Such instance that has relation to the
aforementioned opinion is the assistance given by wealthy nations which in result can limit
some countries to have their own path and instead follow the development created by that
nations, since they can be dictated what policy to establish which basically a simple way of
creating a country to be just like the latter knowing it’s not appropriate to do so. The reason is
that independence and freedom are getting weaker as a state pleads huge help from other
country. I believe that developed countries can take developing countries with the same path as
they have but it must be in a right time, right way, with ethical intentions, and without dictating
poor countries. Agreeing with Birdsall when he said that developed countries should not leave
the poor countries behind does make me realized that a country really needs one another, but,
must also have the principle of standing wisely with each own feet and using assistance in
fruitful manner. Taylor Caldwell once said “A budget should be balanced, the Treasury should
be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and
controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.
People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance”. That statement makes
sense and should be considered.

Speaking of freedom, Sen advocated how development interconnects to freedom and

thus, for him, a state’s freedom to satisfy shortages means development. In Bello’s and
Birdsall’s article, on the other hand, governance and best means of reaching development are
one of the concerns than focusing directly to definitions of development like satisfying one’s
needs. The reason for this is that it’s possible that providing the needs of the people is the result
of having much debt to developed countries or the reason for is bad motives. Bello thus initiated
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the reduction in foreign debt because he probably knew that it’s one of the reasons why a
country is underdeveloped. Birdsall also addresses the assistance provided by developed
countries where this assistance will only be an effective approach to poverty when it’s correctly
handled. Examining the Philippines’ situation, our outstanding public debt to joint venture of the
world bank and international monetary fund is still increasing yearly, leading us to question
“where the money goes”. Poverty still remains a major hindrance for development. The reason
for the existence of poverty which forms the foundation of poor economic opportunities or social
deprivation can be linked to lack of social and market opportunities. Just like what Sen
expressed in his research, social opportunities are a factor that will permit individuals to
effectively shape their own destiny and help each other. Similarly, Jomo Kwame Sundaram
stated, evident in Bello’s article, that inequality when it comes to opportunities indeed
contributes to poverty. These reasons for poverty must of course be managed by a credible and
committed governance, which in fact supported by the idea of Lin (2012) that having such ideal
governance will lead to market stability, facilitation of industrial upgrading, and structural
transformation thus giving more opportunities for the people to benefit from their products, not
just locally or nationally, but also in terms of international transactions.

With the discussed ways of attaining development, nothing beats compassionate and
wise governance and it’s something that our dear country need to work on. It’s because
effective tactics and strategies are alongside to what we call savvy and moral administration.
We are already receiving assistance and it is the job of those who are in position to spend that
money wisely in creating and supporting job and life opportunities instead of not using it properly
and being pressured by that debt. I couldn’t agree more when Birdsall said that aid is only as
good as the ability of a developing country to use it effectively.
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References

2021 Moody's Analytics, I. (2020). Philippines - Outstanding Public Debt. New York:
economy.com.

Bello, W. (2013). Post-2015 Development Assessment: Proposed goals and indicators. Society
for International Development, 1-10.

Sen. (1991). DEVELOPMENT AS FREEDOM. 1-17.

Birdsall, N., Rodrik, D., & Subramanian, A. (2005). How to Help Poor Countries. FOREIGN
AFFAIRS, 1-17.