Name: Nguyễn Đức Cường

Student ID: 1913340012

MID – TERM TEST

A. Compulsory
Question 1: Explain in your own words the meaning of development (150 words)
Answer:
Development is a process of regular and positive change in each and every sector of
the country. Some people consider the economic growth as development. But to me, it
is not so. We can’t interpret only the economic growth as development of country.
Actual development occurs only when all the sectors like education, health,
transportation, communication achieve progress at the same time. Hence actual
definition of development is the progress of nation in every sectors.

To make you clear about development, I would even like to give some examples.
Most of you may think USA is the most developed country. If you think so then you
are wrong. USA is a developed country but not the most developed. You might have
thought so looking its economic progress. But as I have said above only economic
growth is not sufficient for development. If USA is not the most developed country.
From my point of development, Denmark is the most developed country because it is
not only rich in economy but also in social and several other matters.

In a nutshell, a country can be developed if each and every sector of country moves
towards progress.

Question 2: Do you agree with the statement “Economic growth is the necessary
condition for development”. Explain why or why not (200 words)
Answer:
The statement “Economic growth is the necessary condition for development” is hard
to be clarified which is true or not. From my point of view, I agree with this statement
to some extent, however, there are several aspects that must be considered before
making the final conclusion.
On the one hand, it can be denied that economic growth is an important factor to
evaluate the rate of development of each country. According to Investopedia, the
definition of economic growth is “Economic growth is an increase in the production
of economic goods and services, compared from one period of time to another”. From
the definition, it can be seen that the increase in the production of goods and service
would mean the development in many aspects of a country. With making more goods,

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more money, government have more to invest in other aspects of society such as
education, healthcare,…
On the other hand, from the perspective of many people and organizations, economic
growth is a part of development process. They consider many other conditions of
development such as the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) created by the
United Nation. So very often Economic growth in a nation does not bring about
development. In some countries in developing countries such as Brazil, economic
growth can also be accompanied by increase in poverty and growing levels of
unemployment because the unequal allocation of outcomes and the dominance of the
rich in many economic sectors. Not only does it affect people, it also has a negative
impact, as to maximize the profits, the environment is seriously polluted and
destroyed. That does not mean sustainable development according to the United
Nation.
In conclusion, development is a long-term process. It looks into all aspects of growth,
taking into account factors like the environment and human needs. So I can agree with
the statement to some extent, however, economic growth can only take place in the
long run if there is development simultaneously.
B. Selective part
B4 – Question: Take one country, either developing or developed, and analyse the
current development status, including: (i) economic growth, (ii) economic structure,
(iii) at least 5 different social and human development aspects.
Answer
The country to be taken as the example is India – one of the fastest growing economy
in the world
- Economic growth
According to World Bank, the
ECONOMIC GROWTH OF INDIA economic growth of India in
2016 - 2020 terms of GDP from 2016 to
2020 is illustrated in the table
8.26%
6.80% 6.53%
and graph below:
GDP 4.04%
YEAR
GROWTH
2016 2016 2017 8.26%
2018 2019 2020

2017 6.8%
2018 6.53% -7.97%
2019 4.04%
2020 -7.97%
Column2

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Except 2020 – the year witnessed the decline in GDP growth rate of almost every
nation in the world due to the unpredictable Covid – 19 pandemic, India has seen its
economy surges in recent years. Although while looking at the table that the
percentage of GDP growth seems to decline, India is still among the fastest growing
economy in the world. According to many experts, after overcoming the disease,
Indian economy can grow at a fast pace again due to several factors related to labour

and capital.

- Economic structure

According to the graph, the service now becomes the main part of Indian economy
while industry sector is in the second. Compare to some decades ago, there is a
transformation in the economy structure of India when agriculture witnessed the
decline in percentage although it attracts the largest number of Indian labours.
- Social and development aspects of India
o Life expectancy
YEAR LIFE EXPECTANCY
2014 68.286
2015 68.607
2016 68.897
2017 69.165
2018 69.416
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According to the data from World Bank, with the growing of economy, Indian life
expectancy also witnessed the increase although it is still behind the average of the
world
o Poverty headcount ratio (%Population)
YEAR POVERTY HEADCOUNT RATIO
2004 37.2%
2009 29.8%
2011 21.9%

In terms of poverty headcount ratio, India has also succeeded in decline the rate of
poverty in recent year and the main factor was considered is the rapid growth of
Indian economy. However, the figures above are still among the highest in the world
which requires Indian government to make more progress in poverty reduction.

o School enrolment, primary (%Population)

YEAR SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
2000 79.508%
2013 92.257%

The table above indicates the increase in the rate of pupils who attend primary school
from 2000 to 2013. In my opinion, India succeeded in providing primary education
widely among population. This also shows the development in knowledge and skills
of Indian who have received more education and training in recent years.

o Current health expenditure of government (%GDP)

YEAR HEALTH EXPENDITURE
2014 3.62%
2015 3.596%
2016 3.511%
2017 3.535%
2018 3.544%

In terms of expense for healthcare, the figures are about 3.5% of GDP which have
fluctuated in recent years. There are no big progresses in expense for healthcare from
Indian government although the real expenditure increase in terms of money due to
the growing GDP.

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 o Gender equality rating (1 = low to 6 = high)
From the research of CPIA, the rating of gender equality of India from 2005 to 2010 is
3.5% and the number felt to 3% between 2011-2013. This data indicates the more
inequality in Indian society in many aspects. That can be a challenge for Indian
government to make women have more responsibilities in the society.

o Fuel energy consumption (%of Total)

FUEL ENERGY CONSUMPTION
YEAR
2010 71.405%
2011 71.472%
2012 72.419%
2013 72.285%
2014 73.577%

In recent years, the rate of consumption of fuel have increased that means the
contribution of clean energy witness the decreased. That can be more harmful for the
environment and it goes negatively to the target of making the world cleaner and
greener
So in conclusion, India is now struggling in self-protection from Covid – 19
pandemic, that indicates many mistakes in their development process although seeing
the GDP have grown rapidly in recent years. From the indicators, we can see that the
other aspects of social and human development are growing but still lower than the
average of the world.