DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

DS Y1S1: INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

LECTURE NOTES

Coordinator:

(Mrs) Nelly Zulu Phiri

2021
Pre-requisite: None

AIM
This course introduces students to the subject matter of Development Studies. Students are
introduced to the main concepts in Development Studies and theories of development.
Introduction to Development Studies is an introductory-level course in Development Studies
with an emphasis on the triangle of political, economic, and social issues in the so-called
developing world. The class will focus on the conceptual and normative issues in tackling the
poor life conditions endured by over half of the human race. This course will further focus on
the dissecting development by explaining it through its various concepts.
The end purpose of this class will be to provide students with the necessary tools to understand
and interpret events and issues in this vital sector of the world.
The course, while valuable to Development Studies majors, has been designed with all majors
in mind as well. The ultimate intention is to provide practical information and analysis to assist
students in forming their own perspective on development and how it should be pursued in the
twenty-first century.

OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course students should be able to:
i. Demonstrate an understanding of the main issues involved in development.
ii. Identify the factors that enhance the political, social cultural and economic
differences among the regions of the world.
iii. Relate developmental issues to specific policies;
iv. become educated, productive, and principled citizens of their nation and the world.
The concept of development has no universally accepted definition. It is a dynamic concept
which means different things to different people. Development is derived from the word
„develop. ‟ To develop can mean among other things:
- To progress;
- To evolve;
- To unfold;
- To improve;
- To advance from simple to more complex.

Development is a multidimensional gradual and continuous process. It is qualitative and

quantitative.
In economists, words like economic growth and development are sometimes loosely used
interchangeably although they are totally not the same. Economic growth is narrower than
development and is therefore not equal to development. Economic growth focuses exclusively
on the production of goods and services while development is broader than that.
Eeconomic growth entails a sustained rise in the production of goods and services in a nation.
It is measured in monetary terms in a specified period. Measurements such as Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and Gross National Product (GNP) are used to gauge the rate of growth in an
economy.
It entails a; from a population of low skills to one with high skills; and one with
underdeveloped and informal markets and institutions to one with developed and formal
markets and institutions. It analyses factors constraining and inhibiting the process of structural
transformation and studies policies and strategies which can facilitate such transformation.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): measures the total amount of goods and services produced
in an economy in a given year. Goods and services that are produced by foreigners in an
economy under consideration are also included in the measurement. Gross National Product
(GNP): is used to measure the total amount of goods and services produced by nationals of a
given country. It also includes what nationals residing in other countries produce. GNP
excludes what foreigners produce.
Economic development
In addition to sustained increase in the production of goods and services, economic
development entails fundamental structural changes that accompany such a growth.

Features of economic development

o Transformation of an economy from a rural/ agrarian economy to an urban and modern

economy.
o Decline in the share of agriculture in the GDP and the proportion of its workers. If
economy will have a considerable share in the GDP then there must be some value
addition to the Agricultural produce. This entails exporting Agricultural products in
finished rather than raw form ie. Instead of exporting maize grain, an economy can
 process the maize into cornflakes which are of higher export value than the maize
grown from which it comes.
o An increase in the share of manufacturing and service industries in GDP. This will
result in job creation and increased household income.
o In the initial stages of economic development, population growth rate soars but later
starts to decline;
o Consumption patterns of people change with people spending less on basic necessities
and more on durable consumer goods, fast foods and an increased choice in
convenience.

What is important in all this is the participation of the local people both as beneficiaries and
benefactors of the economic activities. Governments must institute deliberate policies which
push for the employment of the local populations in companies.
Furthermore, the quality of the jobs is of utmost importance. If low paying jobs are the ones
reserved for the local and the managerial or high-end jobs are reserved for expatriates then that
situation will not bring about economic development. In fostering quality job offers for local
people, the government reserves the responsibility to ensure there is robust Research and
Development and an investment in knowledge and skills development. this will invariably
equip the local human resource with the competence for skills demanding jobs.

Major determinants of economic development

- Efficient resources allocation (natural and human)
- Investments and savings
- Improvements in science and technology
- Increased skills and education.
Why is economic growth associated to Development?
Income and wealth are important but to concentrate on wealth exclusively is wrong. Income
and wealth are not ends in themselves. We derive wealth through economic growth and wealth
is very important to human life. They should be used as instruments for other purposes. There
are many factors that can bring about quantitative increases in a given economy. We however
need to be concerned with matters such as: who produces these goods and services, who is the
majority beneficiary, under what conditions are the goods and services being produced? in
instances where the human rights are being traded for economic growth, them that becomes an
area of concern. For instance, if workers in factories are working without safety and protective
clothing or are being locked up in factories meanwhile production and income increases, then
the welfare of those employees is traded off and therefore that economic increase does not
amount to development.

Measurement Issues

How do we distinguish between developing countries and developed countries? How do we

measure level of development? There are many ways to distinguish between developing and
developed countries and measuring development. However, the issue of measuring
development has been controversial and our thinking has evolved over time. The most common
and widely used measure of development is per-capita income of a country. Per-capita income
is an indicator of purchasing power of inhabitants of a country. It gives a measure of how much
goods and services inhabitants of a country can purchase. There are two measures of per-capita
income which are commonly used: one based on gross national income (GNI/ GNP) and other
based on gross domestic product (GDP). Both GNI and GDP measure the overall level of
economic activity and are closely related. GDP is the total value of the final output of goods
and services produced in a country. GNI is simply GDP plus net flows of foreign factor income.
Percapita income is usually proxied by either GNI per capita or GDP per capita. According to
this definition, developing countries are countries with low per-capita income. The problem of
economic development is simply to increase the per-capita income of developing countries,
which is essentially the problem of growth. One major problem with using per-capita income
is that such per-capita income comparison exaggerates the differentials in standards of living
between developing and developed countries. Recall that what matters for the well-being is the
amount of goods and services one can purchase. The amount of goods and services one can
purchase depends on two things: income and the price level. Same amount of income buys
fewer goods and services if prices are high compared to the case when prices are low. For
example, suppose that there are two individuals A and B. Both have identical incomes say
$1000. Now suppose that A lives in a country where price level is 50, but B lives in a country
where price level is 100. Then, A can buy 20 units of goods, while B can buy only 10 units of
goods. Thus, despite identical incomes A will have higher standard of living than B. This
implies that if we ignore differences in price level across countries, then just the comparison
of per-capita income across countries can give misleading picture of differences in the
standards of living. It turns out that on average prices in developing countries are lower than
prices in developed countries. One dollar spent in India buys more goods and services than in
the United States. The main reason for lower prices in developing countries is relatively low
labour cost. Researchers have tried to take into account such price differences across countries
and developed the concept of purchasing power parity (PPP). PPP is calculated using a
common set of international prices for all goods and services produced, valuing goods in all
countries at U.S. prices. PPP is defined as the number of units of a foreign country’s currency
required to purchase the identical quantity of goods and services in the local markets as $1
would buy in the United States.
The World Bank defines low-income countries (LIC) as having a per-capita gross income
of $ 1026 or less and high-income countries having income of $ 12,726 or more. Countries
with income of $ 1026 and more but less than $ 4000 are classified as lower middle-income
countries (LMC) and countries with income between $4000 and $12, 726 are classified as
upper middle-income countries (UMC). All the countries other than high income countries
are classified as developing countries. Most of the high-income countries are located in
Western Europe and North America. On the other hand, most of the low-income countries are
located in Africa and Asia. Population wise the largest concentration of low-income people is
in South Asian countries. Most of the countries in South America and Eastern Europe are
middle income countries. Many economist and social scientists believe that defining
developing countries just on the basis of per-capita income is very narrow and can be
misleading. As discussed earlier, economic development is the process of structural change.
Changes in per-capita income do not reflect structural change. One may have high growth rate
in per-capita income without any structural transformation. Their views received a great deal
of support from the growth experience of developing countries in the 50s and 60s. In these
decades, many developing countries focused on increasing their per-capita income rapidly as a
way to get out of underdevelopment. The belief was that `` rising tide lifts all boats” i.e. growth
benefits everybody. They concentrated their resources in developing few sectors with most
growth potential assuming that development in one sector will automatically spread to other
sectors. Many developing countries did reach their economic growth targets but the levels of
living of the masses of people remained for the most part unchanged. Economic growth did
benefit tiny section of the society, but majority of people remained mired in poverty i.e. growth
did not trickle down to masses. The growth experience of developing countries in the 50’s and
the 60’s led to major rethinking about the concept of economic development. It was realized
that problems of poverty, inequality, and institutional changes require direct address and policy
interventions. It led to the view that development is a multidimensional process involving
major changes in social structures, attitudes, institutions as well growth and redistribution.
Development is more concerned with enhancing the lives people lead and the freedoms they
enjoy.
Income and wealth are not in ends in themselves but instruments for other purposes.

“Development must be participatory a ‘bottom up’ exercise, where ordinary people,

all member of the community can understand, initiate, and control the process”
Dimensions of Development.

Development, both in its essential meaning and in its aims, is an inclusive, multidimensional
phenomenon whose various aspects cannot be understood in isolation from each other.
Economic development affects, and is affected by, culture, politics, the environment,
legislative systems and the societal norms

• Economic Dimension: increased income, increased GDP, food and security.

• Political Dimension: Freedom of speech, right to political affiliation, free and fair
elections, political will, freedom to participate in election, transparency, political
accountability.

• Environmental Dimension: prudent use of natural resources, health and sanitation.

• Legal: justice for all, representative legislature, respect for rule of law and rights of all
individuals.
 • Cultural Dimension: Gender, progressive cultural norms and practices,
modernization.
• Social: access to basic social needs.

Modern View of Development: The Three Core Values of Development – (capabilities

approach)

The current approach to development owes a great deal to the writings and views of Noble
Laureate Dr. Amartaya Sen. As Sen put it,
``Economic growth cannot be sensibly treated as an end in itself. Development has to be
more concerned with enhancing the lives we lead and the freedoms we enjoy.”

This new approach is popularly known as Sen’s Capabilities Approach. According to this
approach, development is not just about increasing the availability of commodities (focus of
the per-capita income approach) but expanding the capabilities of individuals to use these
commodities and enhancing the freedom of choice of people. Higher income is important an
element of one’s well being. But, well being of individuals also depends on their health,
education, geographical and social environment, and political system. There are three core
values of development: (i) sustenance, (ii) self-esteem, and (iii) freedom.
Sustenance: It is the ability to meet basic needs of people. All people have certain basic needs
without which life would be impossible. These basic needs include food, shelter, health, and
protection. People should have access to these basic needs.
Self-Esteem: Sense of worth and self-respect and feeling of not being marginalized are
extremely important for individual’s well being. All peoples and societies seek some form of
self-esteem (identity, dignity, respect, honour etc.). The nature and form of self esteem may
vary from on culture to another and from time to time. Self-esteem may be based on material
values: higher income or wealth may be equated with higher worthiness. One may consider
individuals worthy based on their intellect or public service. Every person needs to have a sense
of worthy; not to be used by others for their own ends. We all need to have a dignified life and
self-respect.
Freedom from Servitude: Human freedom, the ability to choose, is essential for the well being
of individuals. Freedom involves an expanded range of choices for societies: economic and
political. It involves freedom from bondage, serfdom, and other exploitative economic, social,
and political relationships.
The new view about the development process suggests that one cannot capture the process of
development by just per-capita income. It cannot reflect the multidimensional nature of
development process. In recent years, a number of different types of measures have been
developed to better reflect the multidimensional nature of development process. One such
measure is the Human Development Index (HDI).

The Human Development Index

Human development index is an attempt to capture the broader view of development that
development involves not only increase in per-capita income but also expansion of the
capabilities of individuals. Human capital in terms of education and health is one of the most
important determinant and indicator of capability of an individual. They capture important
aspects of socioeconomic development of countries and the well being of individuals.
In 1990, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) developed an index which reflects
development in per-capita income as well as human capital. This new index is known as Human
Development Index (HDI) and is published annually by the UNDP in their Human
Development Reports.
The concept of human development is still evolving. Over time there have been changes in its
methodology. HDI is calculated as follows. HDI has three components. The first was life-
expectancy at birth, which captures longevity and status of health. It also indirectly reflects
infant and child mortality rates.
The second is the measure of educational attainment of the society. Educational attainment is
measured as a weighted average of adult literacy (with weight 2/3) and a combination of
enrolment rates in primary, secondary, and tertiary education (weight 1/3).
The last component is the per-capita income. All three components (health, education, and
income) are combined to produce HDI score of a country. All three components are given equal
weight in the construction of HDI score. The value of HDI varies between 0 and 1. Countries
with higher HDI score are considered to be more developed. The UNDP classified low HD
countries as countries with HDI score below 0.5. Countries with HDI score of 0.9 and above
are classified as very high HD countries. Countries with HDI score of 0.8 and above and below
0.9 are classified as high HD countries. Countries with score of 0.5 and above and below 0.8
are classified as medium HD countries.
 The Concept of Sustainable Development.

Emergence of the concept of Sustainable Development

The linkage of development and environment in international legal discourse has been
associated with the Stockholm declaration, the end product of the Stockholm Conference of
1972.
The concept of SD was popularised by the Brundtland Report «Our Common Future» from
1987, which added further depth to the concept.
The Rio Declaration of 1992 thus only marked the culmination of a process that goes back at
least twenty-years to the Stockholm Declaration of 1972.
SD is defined as Development that meets the needs of the present generations without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable
development is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of
investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are all in
harmony and enhance both current and future potential human needs and aspirations.
It suggests an apparent paradigm shift in the world view of ways countries should develop,
from concentration on pure economic growth to a wider concern with environmental, social
and economic sustainability. As we try to satisfy economic, social and political needs of the
people, throughout the world, we should not degrade natural resources. It entails:

• That natural resources be exploited rationally, and preserved for benefit of future
generations.
• That environmental considerations be integrated in economic plans, programmes and
projects.
In other words, the environment needs to be seen as an integral part of the development process
unlike in isolation. The environmental resources should not be to such extents that it may affect
negatively, future use of resources. Therefore:
For renewable resources, as they are being used, they should be allowed to regenerate
For non-reusable resources, there is need to find alternative and rationalizing the use of those
resources for which human beings have not found substitutes.
Sustainable Development requires:
a) The elimination of poverty and deprivation.
b) The conservation and enhancement of the resource base, which alone can ensure that
the elimination of poverty is permanent.
c) A broadening of the concept of development so that it covers not only economic growth,
but also social and cultural development.
d) The unification of economics and ecology in decision-making at all levels.

Core Values of Sustainable Development.

Satisfaction of human needs- present and future, is made the basic objective of development.
That is why the concept of SD emphasises both inter- and intra- generational equity.
A sustainable society should be the goal of development. A sustainable society implicitly
entail one that is based on a long-term vision in that it must foresee the consequences of its
diverse activities to ensure that they do not break the cycle of renewal. It must be a society of
conservation and generational concern. It must avoid adoption of mutually irreconcilable
objectives. Equally, it must be a society of social justice because great disparities of wealth or
privileges will only breed destructive disharmony.

Dimensions of Sustainable Development.

Environmental Sustainability:
The conservation and prudent management of natural resources. Preservation of biodiversity
and maintenance of biological integrity is key.
There is need to recognise that nature has value in itself. Even if it is not serving a specific
human need. Plants, animals, insects, any part of our global eco-system has a right to life.
There is need to see humans as part of of global eco-system, not as masters of. We are entirely
dependent on nature. Even if we can exploit and manipulate nature, we are ultimately part of it
and our fate depends on nature. (Food, water, air, climate, health etc.)
Social Sustainability:
The maintenance and enhancement of the quality of life. Equity is the main consideration in
meeting this dimension.
What is quality of life? Is it good health? Sufficient and good food? Good human relations?
Comfortable shelter? Education? Money? Fancy cars? Swimming pools? How should we
define quality of life?
Commonly we assume a materialistic approach that improved quality of life is equal to better,
busier jobs, more money, increased consumption, improved quality of life.
Is it possible to improve quality of life in a different way?
Is the stressful, busy lifestyle we strive for worth it? What are our basic values? Money is a
means to food, shelter and other things we need, but what really matters most? Could it be
health, family, happiness?
Economic Sustainability:
The production of goods and services. The overriding criterion in fulfilling this objective is
efficiency.
The modern, capitalistic approach is mass-production of cheap, low quality goods and ever-
increasing consumption ---- how can this be combined with sustainability?
What are the raw materials of these goods? Can we use recycled material?
What emissions and pollutants come as a result of the production – can these be minimised or
eliminated? If no, can we produce in a different way?
Efficiency – how do we maximise the use of the material used and any bi-products? (If
production generates heat – can this be used for something useful? T shirt cut outs – can be
made into underwear or other items)

Objectives of Sustainable Development.

SD has 2 objectives and these are intra-generational Equity and Inter-generational Equity.
Inter-generationa Equity:
The present generation should not use resources or degrade the environment so as to leave
future generations in a worse position than the present generation.
Questions: How far into the future should we look? Which assumptions can we make about the
needs of future generations? Are we talking about only human generations or of the whole
global eco-system and its generations of life? Which assumptions can we make about the needs
of other life forms.
Intra-generational Equity:
People within the present generation have the right to benefit equally from the exploitation of
resources, and they have an equal right to a clean and healthy environment.
National Level: Fairness between groups of people in a society, in terms of access to common
natural resources. Limits to private property, particularly in terms of what government can do
to restrict or allow the use of resources through environmental law.
International Level: Fairness between countries in terms of access to international resources.
Overall, intra-generational equity means that people with low incomes should have at least
their basic needs met, in terms of a healthy environment, food, shelter, cultural and spiritual
needs.
One way to achieve this would be a massive transfer of wealth from the global rich to the global
poor, higher income countries to lower income countries, and within countries, between the
wealthy elites and the poor. (Questions, should we target the richest individuals or the
countries? Oxfam study in 2015: the richest 1% own 48% of global wealth. The poorest 80%
own 5,5%. The 80 richest individuals own as much as the poorest 3,5 billion.