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MODULE 1
DEVELOPMENT
What is Development?
It is the process of improving the quality of all human lives
OR
It is the process of growth and change in societies that makes people richer, healthier,
better fed, more educated, happier and free.

ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT
There are three areas of concern for a society to be considered fully developed.

(i) Social Development:

- This is when people have better standards of living and all their basic
needs have been met, that is:
 Better and more shelter/housing
 Good and accessible health care/more clinics and hospitals
 Access to education/more schools
 Enough healthy food for all
 Access to clean water

(ii) Economic Development

- This is when the country produces more and gets richer/wealthier.
- It is characterized by:
 More industries/factories
 Better and improved technology
 Higher levels of employment
 Wider range/choice of goods and services
 Higher incomes/wages
 Higher productivity.

(iii) Political Development

 This is when people have more freedom and justice in a country.
 This means that all the basic human rights are guaranteed and protected
by the law.
 Political rights give rise to people’s self esteem (i.e. Pride and confidence).
 Political development is achieved when the following have been met
 Freedoms of expression, religion, association, movement etc.
 Fair and impartial justice
 Democratic free and fair elections
 Institutions and laws that protect people’s rights, that is the
respect for human rights.
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UNDERDEVELOPMENT
- This is the condition of persistent low standards of living and poverty
that make it almost impossible for people to improve their lives.
- Underdevelopment is characterized by the following conditions:
 Low incomes
 Low food consumption levels/low calorie intake
 Low education/low level of literacy
 Poor and inadequate social services e.g. schools, hospitals and clinics
 Low standards of living
 High levels of unemployment
 Low level of industrialization
 Primitive or poor technology.

HOW THE WORLD IS DIVIDED ACCORDING TO LEVELS OF

DEVELOPMENT

The World can be divided into four groups based on the levels of development, namely
1. Developed/Industrialised
2. Second World
3. Newly Industrialising Countries (N.I.C’s)
4. Less Developed Countries

(a) Developed Countries

Also known as:
a. First World Countries
b. Countries of the North
c. Industrialised Countries
d. Capitalist countries

Examples:
Mostly found in:
- Western Europe; e.g. United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark etc.
- North America; U.S.A. and Canada
- Japan, Australia, New Zealand

Economic characteristics
 Highly industrialized
 High employment levels
 High incomes
 Highly developed infrastructure
 High G.N.P/G.D.P.
 High energy consumption levels
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Social Characteristics
 High standards of living
 High levels of literacy/literacy
 Good and adequate social facilities e.g. clinics, hospitals, schools
 High calorie/food intake
 High life expectancy
 Low birth rates and population growth rates
 High levels of urbanization.

Why they are highly developed

 Use of advanced technology to produce goods and services.
 Long history of industrialization
 Colonialism/imperialism
 Importation of raw materials at very cheap prices from less developed countries
 Selling/exporting expensive manufactured goods
 Highly skilled and productive workforce
 Control and dominate world trade.

(b) Second World countries

- Also known as the Former Communist/Socialist countries.
- They used to have planned economies.
- Examples: Soviet Union, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia
etc.
Economic characteristics
 Well developed infrastructure
 Medium levels of industrialization
 Medium levels of income
 Falling levels of employment
 Their economies are in a state of transition from Socialism to Market/Capitalist
economy in the following ways:
(i) From collective farm to individual/private farms
(ii) From state enterprises to free enterprise.
(iii) State controlled prices to market forces determined prices.
(iv)From free social services to paying.
(v) From central planning to decentralized planning.
(vi)From full employment to high levels of unemployment.

Social Characteristics
 Falling standards of living
 High levels of urbanization
 High levels of education/literacy
 Falling life expectancy
 Good access to social facilities
 Low birth rates and population growth rate
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(c) Newly Industrialising Countries ( N.I.C’s)

- These are countries that have achieved high levels of development in
the last thirty years.
- They used to be underdeveloped.
Examples:
South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia etc.

Economic characteristics
 Fast growing industrial sector
 Greater dependence on exports of manufactured goods
 Rapidly commercializing agricultural sector i.e. from subsistence to commercial
agriculture.
 Rising levels of employment
 Rising income levels
 Emergence of new Trans-National Corporations e.g. Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo,
Kia all from South Korea

Social Characteristics
 Rapid urbanization
 Improving standards of living
 Higher levels of education/literacy
 Improved provision of social services
 Rising life expectancy
 Falling birth and population growth rates
 Democracy and improved freedoms

Why they developed very fast

 Heavy investment in science and technology education.
 Large scale foreign direct investment e.g. by Transnational Corporations.
 Export oriented industrialization based on the production of consumer goods for
the world market.
 Foreign aid from the developed western countries in an attempt to stop the spread
of Communism e.g. in South East Asia.
 Loans from international financial institutions e.g. World Bank
 Technology transfer from the Western countries.
 Cheap labour costs that helped to attract foreign investment.
 Agricultural and land reforms that helped to modernize and improve productivity.
 Heavy investment in modern infrastructure.

(d) Less Developed Countries

Also known as:
 Third World Countries
 Countries of the South
 Developing Countries
 Least Developed Countries
 Underdeveloped countries
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Examples:
Most African countries e.g. Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania etc.
South American countries such as Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua, Chile, Bolivia etc.
Asian countries such as Iran, Iraq, Bangladesh, China etc.

Economic Characteristics
 Dependence on raw materials for exports e.g. crops, minerals etc.
 Low levels of industrialization
 High levels of unemployment
 Low incomes/widespread poverty
 Poorly developed infrastructure
 Low G.N.P./G.D.P.
 Dependence on subsistence agriculture

Social Characteristics
 Low standards of living
 High levels of illiteracy/low education levels
 Poor and inadequate social facilities i.e. schools, hospitals
 High birth and population growth rates
 Low life expectancy
 Low urbanization levels i.e. most people live in the rural areas
 Oppression of women
 Few stable democracies

Why they are underdeveloped

 The slave trade which depleted Africa’s human resources
 Colonialism/imperialism that exploited Africa.
 Backward or poor technology
 Dependence on cheap raw materials for export
 Unfair international trading terms that disadvantage L.D.C’s
 Unskilled and less productive labour force
 Huge foreign debts
 Neo-colonialism: i.e. domination of the economies by developed countries
through Trans-National Corporations.
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MEASURING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

INDICATOR LESS DEVELOPED DEVELOPED

COUNTRIES COUNTRIES
Gross National Product Low High
Gross Domestic Product Low High
G.N.P per capita Low High
Energy use/consumption Low High
Employment Low High

(a) Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P.)

- This is the total value of goods and services produced within the country in a
year.
- It reflects a country’s productive capacity economically.
- Developed countries have a very high G.D.P. while the less developed countries
have very low G.D.P.

(b) Gross National Product (G.N.P.)

- This is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year,
including income from outside the country through trade and investment.

- Developed countries have very high G.N.P. while Less developed countries
have very low G.N.P.
N.B.
Both G.D.P. and G.N.P. are calculated in U.S. dollars (US$) to make comparison
between countries easier.

(c) Gross National Product per Capita (G.N.P. per capita)

- It is the average income per person for a particular country.
- It is calculated by dividing the total value of the G.N.P. by the total population of
the country. i.e. GNP per capita = GNP/Total population
- Calculated in US$ for international comparability.
- Developed countries have very high GNP per capita while Less Developed
countries have very low GNP per capita.
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Country Population GNP (US$) GNP per Capita

Lesotho 1.8 m 954 m 530
Nigeria 115 m 33 350 m 290
Botswana 1.6 m 2 652 m 1 658
U.S.A. 250 m 5 447 500 m 21 790

Limitations of using GNP per capita

 It is just an average that does not give a clear indication of how wealth is
distributed.
 It does not show the actual standard of living enjoyed by the people.
 It excludes the informal sector or subsistence farming.
 Government statistics are usually inaccurate.

Advantages of using GNP per capita as an indicator of development

 It is an estimate of the standard of living of people in a country.
 Enables comparison of development between countries.
 Can be used to measure level of economic growth in successive years or over
time.
 Standard measurement in United States Dollars (U.S. $).
 Statistics are readily available from international organizations like the United
Nations, World Bank etc.
 Helps to estimate the productive capacity of a country’s economy.

(d) Energy use/consumption

 Developed countries use large quantities of energy while less developed
countries use small quantities.
 Developed countries use a lot of energy because they have a lot of industries,
machines, vehicles and gadgets that use electricity. Large urban areas.
 Underdeveloped countries use smaller quantities of energy because there are very
few industries, vehicles and machines. Most of the work is done manually.

(e) Employment
 In developed countries there are high levels of formal employment while in less
developed countries there are low levels of formal employment.
 In developed countries there are a lot of employment opportunities in:
 Large industrial sector
 Large commercial/service sector
 Commercial agricultural sector
 Quaternary sector
 In the less developed countries employment is very low because of
 A small industrial sector
 Small commercial sector
 Dependence on subsistence agriculture
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(f) Trade
- Developed countries are dependent on exporting manufactured/finished
products while the less developed countries are dependent on the exports of raw
materials.

SOCIAL INDICATORS

INDICATORS OF LEVEL LESS DEVELOPED DEVELOPED

OF DEVELOPMENT COUNTRIES COUNTRIES
Birth rate/population growth rate high low
Infant mortality rate high low
Life expectancy low high
Calorie/food intake low high
Education/literacy level low high
Urbanisation level low high

(a) Birth rate/Population growth rate

 LDC’s have higher birth and population growth rates while developed countries
have lower birth and population growth rates.
 Less developed countries have high birth and population growth rates because
of:
 A large family seen as a symbol of social prestige i.e. proves one’s virility.
 Ignorance of the use of family planning and contraceptives.
 Low levels of education.
 Children regarded as a source of labour in agriculture.
 Children are seen as a source of social security/pension in old age.
 Early marriages
 Polygamy
 Desire for sons if girls are born first.

 Developed countries have lower birth and population growth rates because:
 Widespread use of family planning and contraceptives.
 High levels of education.
 Social security/pension schemes
 High standards of living that make large families expensive to raise.
 Banning of child labour.
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(b) Infant Mortality rate (I.M.R)

Definition:
This is the number of babies per 1000 who die before reaching their first
birthday.

- N.B. An infant is a baby that is below 12 months.

- L.D.C’s have higher infant mortality rates while developed countries have
lower infant mortality rates.
- Less developed countries have higher infant mortality rates because of:
 Shortage of health facilities
 Widespread diseases and epidemics e.g. cholera, ebola, malaria etc.
 Poor nutrition
 Poor sanitation and hygiene
 Poverty/low living standards

- Developed countries have lower infant mortality rates because of:

 Adequate and efficient health facilities
 Adequate and balanced nutrition
 Good sanitation and hygiene
 High standards of living
 Immunization programmes that help to eradicate child killer diseases.

(c) Life Expectancy

Definition:
This is the average age the people in a country reach before death.
- L.D.C’s have lower life expectancies while developed countries have higher life
expectancy.

- Less developed countries have lower life expectancy because of the following:
 Poor nutrition
 Famine/food shortages
 Wars
 Widespread diseases and epidemics
 Poverty/hard life
 Back breaking manual labour

- Developed countries have higher life expectancies because of the following:

 Excellent and adequate nutrition
 Good sanitation and hygiene
 Adequate and efficient health care
 Immunization programmes
 High standards of living

(d) Calorie intake

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 Less developed countries have very low calorie intake while in developed
countries calorie intake is very high.
 In less developed countries calorie intake is very low because of:
 Low incomes/poverty
 Ignorance/low education levels
 Low productivity in agriculture
 Droughts/famines
 Wars/political instability
 Developed countries high calorie intake, far above bodily requirements because
of:
 High incomes
 Surplus food production
 High levels of education
 Advanced agricultural technology

(e) Education/literacy level

Country Literacy level (%)

United Kingdom 95
Japan 98
Botswana 74
Zimbabwe 66
Nigeria 51

 Less developed countries have low literacy/education levels while developed

countries have high literacy levels.
 Literacy: the ability to read and write.
 Less developed countries have low literacy/education levels because of:
 Inadequate schools and teachers
 Low incomes/poverty
 Ignorant parents
 Lack of capital

 Developed countries have higher literacy and education levels because of the
following:
 Adequate educational facilities
 Compulsory and free education for all the children
 High incomes
 Educated parents

(f) Level of urbanization

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 It is the proportion of the total population living in towns and cities.

 Less developed countries have low levels of urbanization while developed
countries have higher levels of urbanization.
 L.D.C’s have lower levels of urbanization because of a short history of
urbanization, low levels of industrialization, few towns and cities and heavy
dependence on agriculture.
 Developed countries have higher levels of urbanization because of a longer
history of urbanization, many towns and cities, highly mechanized agriculture and
high levels of industrialization.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

Human rights
 These are things or conditions that every person is entitled to have and they are
part of the constitution.
 Respect for human rights marks a high level of development for any country.
 Conditions that fulfill human rights include the following:
 Regular free and fair elections.
 Freedom of speech/opinion.
 Right to education.
 Freedom of association and worship.
 Impartial/fair justice.
 Law and order/peace/security.
 Equal opportunities in all spheres of life.

Discrimination.
 Discrimination is when people are denied access to full human rights on the basis
of whom they are.
 Discrimination is usually based on any of the following:
(i) Colour – racial discrimination e.g. Apartheid in S.A.
(ii) Religion – e.g. Christianity against Islam
(iii) Gender – oppression of women by men
(iv)Disabled/disability – neglect of the disabled in society by denying them
access to education, buildings, jobs etc.
(v) Ethnicism/tribalism – when members of a particular ethnic group are
denied access to their rights.
 The main cause of discrimination is when resources are inadequate to meet the
needs and wants of all members of society.
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Why it is difficult to measure political indicators

 They are difficult to quantify.
 Most countries forbid allow independent human rights groups to monitor human
right violations.
 Most people in the L.D.C’s are illiterate and ignorant or unaware of their rights.
 Culture and religion can be obstacles e.g. status of women.
 The issue of Sovereignity, that is the belief by countries that they are independent
and therefore nobody can tell them how to treat their citizens.

THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT

What is a theory?
 It is a set of ideas that tries to explain a social process e.g. how development can
be achieved.
 There are several theories that can be used to explain the process of development.

What is Successful Development?

 When people are able to satisfy all their basic needs.
 When people are able to find employment.
 When there are equal opportunities for all regardless of colour, class, religion or
sex.
 When the people participate fully in decision making at all levels of society e.g.
elections.
 When there are adequate social services.
 When there are equal opportunities for all.
 When there are improved standards of living.
 When there is increased productivity and wealth.
 Sustainable use of resources to meet the requirements of both the present and
future generations.

A Development Theory
- It tries to explain the following:
 The stages of development.
 Factors that promote development.
 Factors that slow down development.
 Why some countries achieve more development than others.
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THE MODERNISATION THEORY

 Also known as Rostow’s model of growth.
 It is based on how Europe and the U.S.A. developed.
 It assumes that all countries of the world should follow this path of development.
 The theory suggests that a country goes through the following stages of
development:

Stage 1: Traditional/Primitive society

 Dependent on subsistence agriculture.
 Technology is still simple or rudimentary.
 A simple life.

Stage 2: Beginning of Industry

 Improvement of transport network e.g. roads, canals railways.
 Agricultural revolution e.g. changes from subsistence to commercial farming,
introduction of fertilizers, hybrids, pesticides etc.
 Improved technology that raises productivity.

Stage 3: Economic Take-off

 The beginning of manufacturing industry.
 Urbanization: people start to move from rural areas in large numbers to live in
rural areas

Stage 4: Drive to maturity

 Rapid increase in manufacturing and service industries.
 More people dependent on paid employment.
 Agriculture now fully mechanized with very few people engaged.

Stage 5: High mass consumption

 High production of consumer goods.
 Large service sector that employs the majority of the people.
 High standards of living.

Stage 6: Post Industrial

 Slow or zero economic growth.
 Decline in manufacturing industries.
 High-tech industries that leads to high unemployment levels.
 Shorter working hours and increased leisure time.
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Policies that should be implemented

 Investment in industry and infrastructure.
 Apply or borrow ideas from the Capitalist countries of the north.
 Emphasize the importance of education and training.
 Encourage people to accept change.
 Establish democracy.
 Change subsistence agriculture into commercial farming.
 People should exercise patience and sacrifice because the fruits of
development will be very slow in coming.

Strengths of the theory

 The richest countries of the world followed this path of development e.g. USA,
UK etc.
 The Newly Industrialising Countries have also successfully followed this pattern
of development.
 Shows the importance of capital investments as a fuel for economic development.
 Stresses the need for sacrifice e.g. working for low wages so as to enjoy full
benefits later.
 It acknowledges that change can be unpleasant and that certain groups will suffer
in the process.

Weaknesses
 Emphasizes economic growth at the expense of social development.
 It ignores the fact that Europe and the USA exploited the LDC’s during
colonialism/imperialism.
 Capitalism is not the only way to achieve development.
 LDC’s cannot follow this pattern because the western countries control their
economies.
 Unfair international trading terms that favour the developed at the expense of the
LDC’s.

B. DEPENDENCY THEORY
 Was developed in the 1960’s to try and explain why the LDC’s were failing to
develop.
 Europe and North America became rich and developed through exploiting the
poor countries during colonialism.
 They exploited the resources and neglected their economies by not developing
any industries or infrastructure
 Exploitation is still continuing today in the form of Neo-colonialism i.e. the
control of the economies of LDC’s by developed countries through:
 Trans-National Corporations.
 International loans (the debt trap)
 Foreign aid
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 Control of international trade.

 Dependency theorists argue that the LDC’s would be better off if they broke off
economic relations with the developed countries and develop on their own.

Policies that should be followed

 Break-off all economic ties with developed countries.
 Become self-sufficient/reliant.
 Save and invest instead of borrowing.
 Spend very little on consumer goods but spend on capital goods (i.e. machinery)
 Encourage local inventions (i.e. development of local technology).
 Encourages people to be patient and sacrifice for a better future.

Strengths of the theory

 Focuses on both political and economic development.
 Acknowledges the inter-linkage of countries globally.
 Explains the crippling effect of colonialism.
 Emphasizes the need for self reliance in capital and technology

Weaknesses
 It is almost impossible for the poor countries to raise investment capital on their
own.
 Countries will lose all the benefits of international trade.
 It is impossible to cut off all international links.
 Most LDC’s do not have the capacity to develop their own industrial technology.
 Governments will face a lot of opposition if they stop importing western goods
e.g. TV’s, cars, etc.

C. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THEORY

Definition of Sustainable development:

This is the improvement in the quality of life in society through the careful use of
resources so that both the present and future generations can benefit.

 Was developed in the 1970’s as a response to the damage to the environment by

the developed countries: for example pollution, depletion of species and
resources, soil erosion and desertification, and rapidly rising global population.
 There was also concern with the unequal sharing of the world’s resources e.g.
80% are consumed by the developed counties and 20% by LDC’s.
 It calls for both equitable sharing and the caring for the environment.
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Policies that should be followed

 Stabilize population growth e.g. contraception, family planning.
 Environmental laws against destruction and pollution.
 International environmental agreements.
 Use of appropriate technology.
 More equal distribution of the world’s resources.
 Recycling and reuse to prevent depletion.
 Scientific research and inventions
 Prospecting for new minerals
 Finding alternative sources of energy.

Strengths
 Made the world aware of the need for conservation
 Highlighted the dangers facing the world e.g. global warming, ozone layer
destruction etc.
 Made the world realize the need for cooperation in solving environmental
problems.
 Alerted the world to the unfair distribution of the global resources.

Weaknesses
 New sources of minerals and energy may be discovered e.g. on other planets.
 New technology to increase productivity
 Alternatives for natural resources are being discovered al the time.
 Large populations force people to be resourceful and come up with new ideas (i.e.
necessity is the mother of invention).

ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPMENT

GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT

There has been a realization that women, despite being the majority population, have
been excluded from most areas such as:
 Political rights – few/no women in leadership positions.
 Legal rights – no laws protecting women against oppression or abuse.
 Access to education and training – most girls are not sent to school because they
are regarded as being less important.
 Accesses to property – most societies do not allow women to property e.g. land,
livestock etc.
 Unequal treatment at the workplace – women are paid less than men if they are
doing the same job.
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Gender equality in development

The move to include women in development started in the 1970’s and 1980’s as a
result of pressure from human and women’s rights groups. There was a realization
that sidelining women had serious negative implications.

Problems of sidelining women

 More than half the human resources are underutilized.
 Large population/families because women are ignorant of birth control-illiteracy.
 Poor health for families and consequently an unhealthy and unproductive nation.
 Less skilled manpower.
 Fewer enterprises since women do not have access to credit.

Policies that allow women to participate in development

 Giving women full access to credit/capital.
 Giving women property rights.
 Giving women access to education e.g. universal education (compulsory and
free).
 Affirmative action for women; that is programmes that deliberately accelerates
the promotion of women over women in education, politics, business and the
workplace.
 Promoting women’s organizations that fight for their rights e.g. Emang Basadi,
Metlhaetsile.
 Including gender studies in the school curriculum to remove prejudice among the
young population.
 Legislation: passing laws that give equal rights to both men and women.

POPULISM
 It emphasizes on people being agents of their own development i.e. they should
solve their own problems with the help on Non-Governmental Organisations.
 Populism theorists believe that in today’s societies human development is
obstructed by:
 Concentration of power in government and private companies.
 Rigid government rules and regulations (i.e. bureaucracy) that prevent
people from solving problems immediately.
 Laws, decisions and actions that do not take the plight of the majority of
the poor people.
 Emphasis on large-scale projects that do not benefit locals.

 Populism believes in small scale and community-oriented development projects

in industry and agriculture, particularly in the L.D.C’s.
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Arguments for small scale projects

 They address people’s specific needs and wants.
 Easy to finance and manage.
 Can be operated by individuals since no complex skills are necessary.
 They are environmentally friendly.
 They make use of local skills and resources.
 Employment creation.

Examples:
Malaysia and Indonesia: Their development was largely based on small -scale
businesses, cottage activities controlled by large companies and on a few large private
companies.

GLOBALISATION
Definition:
This is the integration of the world’s economic, social and political systems into one
entity.
 It involves interaction and interdependence of all the countries in the world – the
Global Village.
 Globalisation came about after the collapse of the Communist block in the 1980’s.
Capitalism became the dominant political and economic system.

The elements of Globalisation

 Improving technology and production: use of automated machines, information
technology and technology transfers to the LDC’s.
 Integrated global communication network: i.e. satellite radio, T.V. and radio
networks, the internet and global media publications (newspapers,
magazines)
 Trade liberalization: removal of trade barriers to facilitate the free movement of
goods and services across international borders.
 Rise of Trans-National corporations: Global business empires with subsidiaries
all over. They are far much more powerful economically than national
governments.
 Decline of the sovereign state: Independent nation states will cease to exist and
to be replaced by regional and international economic groupings e.g. the
European Union.
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Problems created by Globalisation

 Increase in poverty and inequalities between the Developed and L.D.C’s.
 Concentration of capital and wealth in the developed countries.
 Emergence of T.N.C’s that are difficult to control and monitor.
 Marginalisation of the L.D.C’s from the global village because they lack capital,
technology, skills and have weak economies that cannot compete.
 Environmental degradation by Trans-National Corporations.

Globalisation Challenges for Africa

 Education and training to produce competitive people who can work anywhere in
the world.
 Regional integration and Continental Union to enable African economies to
compete on the international market.
 Controlling the repatriation of profits by T.N.C’s .
 Controlling the brain drain i.e. the flight of skilled and professional labour to the
developed countries.
 Shifting from Primary to Secondary production.
 Controlling the H.I.V/A.I.D.S. pandemic.
 Building a stable political climate in order to be able to attract investment.
 Changing the African mindset from consumerism to saving, investment and
production.
 Respect for human rights and upholding their dignity and pride.