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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
 Origin of Development Studies

 Overview of the concept of Development
MAIN BODY
 General concept of Development

 Definitions of Development
 Appropriate meaning of Development
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
ORIGIN OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Development Studies as a discipline was born in the mid-1960`s. development experts

realized that single discipline studies were inadequate in grappling with complex development
problems facing Third world countries. These problems include Famines, wars, environmental
degradation, population pressure, pervasive poverty, illiteracy, disease and malnutrition. These
problems are complex and controversial. They also have social, moral, political and technical
dimensions.
Development studies provides an opportunity for studying and understanding these

problems in their many and interrelated aspects.
OVERVIEW OF THE CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT
Development refers to the multi-dimensional process that involves major changes in social
structures, popular attitudes and national institutions.
In the third world, Development remains problematic with many of these countries making little
no progress towards improving the quality of life of the majority population. This is particularly
so in the case of Africa. The African continent remains an underdeveloped with its society still in
transition. The political process is still in transition with many countries abandoning the one-
party political system in favor of multi-party liberal democracy. The multi-party political system
shows little signs that it will lead to a stable political environment whereby the majority
population will have their say in key decisions. Democracy is still very much on the agenda.
Economically Africa has not faired better and in many respects there has been retrogression. In
spite of more than a decade of Structural Adjustment Programme {SAP}, the African economic
condition has remained critical. Per capital income has continued to fall, the export sector is
depressed and the burden of debt remains most excruciating. Population growth is still very high
and given the technological backwardness of the food and the agricultural sector, Africa is
becoming increasingly dependent on food aid and imports for the survival of its people.
GENERAL CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT
Development is a term that often has different meaning for different people and hence different
theoretical perspectives. Goran Hyden (1994) correctly points out that “development is the
product of human efforts”. As a result, it has both its architects and auditors. Architects are the
people with a vision, wedded more or less explicitly to a given ideology. Depending on both
context and timing, ideas may not go are in shaping the development of a given society. The
principal auditors of development are academics. Their task is to assess, within a given
theoretical perspective, how successful the architects are in shaping the process of social change
according to their own modules.
Development can be easily defined and explained by using its major aspects. These include
Social, Economical and political aspects. Different scholars have explained the concept of
development by basing on these aspects of development. The following is how development has
been defined and explained by different scholars according to the major aspects of the
phenomenon;
ECONOMICAL ASPECT
View held by many economists and western liberal scholars is that “Economic growth is the key
indicator to economic development”. Their analysis is found on the works of classical
economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo. This perspective of development thus
considers rise in the per capita income, Gross Domestic Product {GDP}, increase in the level of
investment, markets etc as indicators of development. A developed economy is considered to be
the one that carries on production with a large amount of capital investment, a large amount of
machinery and using advanced techniques. The available human and other resources are
employed to the maximum; consequently, the production efficiency is high leading to high per
capita income. This is development.
In an underdeveloped economy, production is carried on with relatively small amount of capital

and usually with primitive and old techniques. The application of scientific and technological
improvements to production is limited. As a result the real incomes per head of population and
standards of living are usually low; hence there is a little/slow development.
 POLITICAL ASPECT
Democracy and freedom of the individual to participate in politics is viewed as an important

feature of development, thus political development is given overall emphasis. In recent years the
World Bank, The International Monetary Force and the western developed countries spearheaded
by the USA have championed the cause of “democracy” throughout the World.
 SOCIAL ASPECT
The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Scholars such as
Freeman and slave, Patrician and Plebeian, Lord and Serf, guild-master and the journeyman, in a
word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in a constant opposition to one another, carried on an
interrupted, now hidden, now open fight, in a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary
reconstruction of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending class (The communist
manifesto). Marxist theory founded by German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883) is one of
the leading theories that provide critical analysis of the development process. This theory is
directed at social change. Marxists want to analyze social relations in order to change them, in
order to alter what they see are the gross injustices and inequalities created by capitalists’
economic relations. Marx and many more were/are convinced that development takes place in
the contest of class struggle and that the exploiting class must be overthrown and a socialist
economy system must be established.
DEFINITIONS BY OTHER SCHOLARS
There are scholars who have tried to define development by incorporating in one definition,
more than one aspect of development.
Prof. Rostow in his book “The stages of Economic Growth” (1960) applies a stage approach to
the course of development. Rostow presents a political theory as well as a descriptive economic
study of the pattern of the growth and development of the nations. The essence of the Rostow
thesis is that it is logically and practically possible to identify stages of development and classify
societies according to those stages.
Todaro 1988-1989
Development is not purely an economic phenomenon but rather a multi-dimensional process

involving reorganization and reorientation of entire economic and social system. Development is
a process of improving the quality of all human lives with three equally important aspects.
These are:
 Raising peoples’ living levels, i.e. incomes and consumption, levels of food, medical
services, education through relevant growth processes
 Creating conditions conducive to the growth of peoples’ self-esteem through the

establishment of social, political and economic systems and institutions which promote
human dignity and respect
 Increasing peoples’ freedom to choose by enlarging the range of their choice variables,
e.g. varieties of goods and services
Chambers (1997)
Development is a “good change”. This implies the increase in standard of living, improvement
of health and well being for all. His focus was the achievement of whatever is regarded as
general good for the society at large.
APPROPRIATE MEANING OF DEVELOPMENT
As development is a multi-disciplinary concept, to define it we have to deal with development in

a wider sense, including the economic, social, cultural and political aspects with the economic.
In our point of view after the value judgment, we recommend the definition by Todaro (1988-
1989) to be the definition of development because Todaro has incorporated all the major aspects
of development in his single definition.
CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, Development, however understood, is a multi-pronged process, possibly with

several stages of development, it is tempting to include in the definition in the definition of
concept several or some of those conditions which in fact explain development, at least to the
extent that they are setting the stage(s) for later stage in the process. If too many such
explanatory notions are incorporated in the very definition of development, then we may either
be left with a very small remainder of ways to explain development once we have finished
defining it, or we run the risk of involving ourselves in logical cycles in explain this concept. To
steer away from such logical dangers, we should attempt to make to the concept of development
as simple and elementary as possible.
REFERENCES
Dr. I. A. M. Makombe, Introduction to Development Studies (lecture notes), July 2011

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Origin of Development Studies

 General concept of Development

Development Studies as a discipline was born in the mid-1960`s. development experts

Development studies provides an opportunity for studying and understanding these

OVERVIEW OF THE CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT

GENERAL CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT

In an underdeveloped economy, production is carried on with relatively small amount of capital

Democracy and freedom of the individual to participate in politics is viewed as an important

DEFINITIONS BY OTHER SCHOLARS

Development is not purely an economic phenomenon but rather a multi-dimensional process

 Creating conditions conducive to the growth of peoples’ self-esteem through the

APPROPRIATE MEANING OF DEVELOPMENT

As development is a multi-disciplinary concept, to define it we have to deal with development in

In a nutshell, Development, however understood, is a multi-pronged process, possibly with

Dr. I. A. M. Makombe, Introduction to Development Studies (lecture notes), July 2011

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