Economic and Social Development and Causes of Underdevelopment :: human capital approach to education

Q1. ‘What is Development’? Outline an interpretation of this concept that you feel is most appropriate, with reference to at least two of the ideas proposed in the course. According to Aristotle, â€Å"Wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else† (Classics.mit.edu, 2014). According to Sen also (1999, pp. xi), we are many times richer than a century ago. Yet many people are still unhappy. Hence, definition of development should encompass a scenario, where money is means, and not the ends of development. Therefore, â€Å"Development can be seen, as a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy† (Sen, 1999, pp.3). These freedoms mainly include political freedoms, economic facilities, social opportunities, transparency guarantees, and protective security. The alternative where development is mainly characterized as economic growth poses many limitations on people’s living conditions. For example, imagine rich women living in a wealthy country, where women risk punishment, from state, for expressing opinions publicly, attending education, going out in public alone, etc. Even if that country has very high Gross domestic product (GDP), the rich women might not achieve their preferred conditions for living. However, economic-growth is very important as means for expanding freedoms, as it can be used to provide for food, clothes, hospitals, social care etc. Defining of development as freedoms rather than just economic-growth will help to focus in fulfilling broader human needs. For example, political freedoms through free speech and election can help to promote participation. Participation in social opportunities such as education and health can promote collective economic growth (Todaro and Smith, 2011, pp.359). Economic participation and protective security can increase personal wealth, which can be invested in social facilities, food, health etc. (Sen, 1999, pp.11) Despite all this, Sen’s (1999) definition has been criticized for not analysing the framework in which the freedoms occurs, namely unequal power distribution at both national and international level. In 2000, 16.7% of population controlled two-thirds of land in Bangladesh. As a result, around half of population were vulnerable to famine even though Bangladesh is a democratic country and has political freedoms. Hence, Sen’s definition of development cannot work practically without analysing power distribution, or who has control over resources (Navarro, 2000, pp.672). At international level, concept such as human rights is depoliticised. For example, United Nations’ Human Development Reports greatly analyses the consequences of inequalities growth. But the reports fails to analyse in detail, the political topic of which countries has the influence of creating and removing these inequalities.