See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/340375763

The Concept of Development DEFINITIONS, THEORIES AND

CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES

Presentation · April 2020

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.17378.48323

CITATIONS READS

4 89,720

1 author:

Nishan Sakalasooriya
University of Kelaniya
62 PUBLICATIONS   45 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Lecture notes View project

Research View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Nishan Sakalasooriya on 02 April 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

The Concept of
Development
DEFINITIONS, THEORIES AND CONTEMPORARY
PERSPECTIVES

BY DR. NISHAN SAKALASOORIYA

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY
UNIVERSITY OF KELANIYA
SRI LANKA
Definitions of Development

 For almost every writer a different definition of

development exists
 Important to first distinguish between:

a. Development as a state or

condition-static
b. Development as a process
or course of change-
dynamic
Meaning of Development-
Todaro
 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 process of improving the quality

of all human lives with three equally important
aspects. These are:
Todaro’s Three Objectives of
Development

 1. Raising peoples’ living levels, i.e. incomes and consumption,

levels of food, medical services, education through relevant
growth processes

 2. 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

 3. Increasing peoples’ freedom to choose by enlarging the

range of their choice variables, e.g. varieties of goods and
services
 Alternative Interpretations of Development
(Mabogunje)

 Development as Economic Growth- too often commodity

output as opposed to people is emphasized-measures of
growth in GNP. Note here the persistence of a dual
economy where the export sector contains small number of
workers but draws technology as opposed to traditional
sector where most people work and is dominated by
inefficient technology
Alternative Interpretations of
Development

 Development as Modernization- emphasizes process of social

change which is required to produce economic advancement;
examines changes in social, psychological and political
processes;
 How to develop wealth oriented behavior and values in
individuals; profit seeking rather than subsistence and self
sufficiency
 Shift from commodity to human approach with investment in
education and skill training
Development
 Development as Distributive Justice- view development as
improving basic needs
 Interest in social justice which has raised three issues:
 1.Nature of goods and services provided by governments
 2. Matter of access of these public goods to different social
classes
 3. How burden of development can be shared among these
classes
 Target groups include small farmers, landless, urban under-
employed and unemployed
Alternative Interpretations of
Development
 Development as Distributive Justice- view development as
improving basic needs
 Interest in social justice which has raised three issues:
 1.Nature of goods and services provided by governments
 2. Matter of access of these public goods to different social
classes
 3. How burden of development can be shared among these
classes
 Target groups include small farmers, landless, urban under-
employed and unemployed
Marxist View of Development
 Emphasizes Mode of Production - elements and activities
necessary to produce and reproduce real, material life
 Capitalist (market economy) mode depends on wage labor
whose labor power produces a surplus which is accumulated
and appropriated by the employer-result is often class conflict
in capitalist societies
Neocolonial Dependence Model

 Outgrowth of Marxist thinking-Dos Santos

 Existence of underdevelopment due to historical
evolution of an unequal international capitalist
system of rich country-poor country relations
 Sets up center (developed countries) versus
periphery (developing countries) contrast
 Attempts to become self-reliant and progressive are
surpressed by this relationship
 Moreover certain elites in the developing world (e.g
landlords, entrepreneurs, merchants) enjoy high
incomes, social status and political power and thus
perpetuate inequality and conformity and are
rewarded
 They serve international power groups such as multi-
national firms, assistance agencies (World Bank)
and other agents
Sustainable Development

 Defined as development that is likely to achieve

lasting satisfaction of human needs and
improvement of the quality of life and
encompasses:
 Help for the very poorest who are left with no option
but to destroy their environment to survive
 Idea of self-reliant development with natural
resource constraints
 Cost effective development using different
economic criteria to the traditional –i.e.
development should not degrade environment
 Important issues of health control, appropriate
technologies, food self-reliance, clean water and
shelter for all
 People centered activities are necessary- human
beings are the resources in the concept
Theories of Development

 1940-50s- Keynesian growth theory -process of capital of

formation is determined by savings and investment
 Domestic savings are chanelled to productive investments
such as manufacturing which result –usually-in high
productivity
 Growth is market driven as income levels rise, savings rises and
frees capital for alternative investment
Theories of Development

 Modernization Theory -as noted previously this theory suggests

that economic dimension alone is insufficient and adds
theories on institutional and social change
 Incorporates non-economic elements such as social
practices, beliefs, values and customs (McClelland, Achieving
Society)
 Diffusion and speed of change is critical as is removal of
various cultural and social barriers
 Backward internal structures-rather than external factors-
cause underdevelopment
Theories of Development

 NeoLiberal Development Theory- grew in the 1970s and

designed to counteract impact of Keynesianism
 New emphasis on supply side factors in development- private
initiatives and market led growth
 Move away from demand stimulation (interest rate
manipulation), import substitution, state intervention and
centralized planning
 Gradual industrialization with ‘trickle down’ of benefits to all
social classes
Theories of Development

 Popular Development- what is it?

 Avoids ‘grand theories’ and emphasizes solutions
viewed in context of development which is part of
historical process
 Context of development is constantly changing in
scale and time
 Accommodates geographical and historical
diversity
 Theory of little use to practitioners of development
 Stresses local diversity, human creativity, process of
social change through pragmatism, flexibility and
context
 Not extent of state intervention but comparative
advantages of public and private sectors and their
complementarity
Popular Development and Environment

 Recognizes high “opportunity costs” associated with

irreversible environmental damage
 Dealing with environmental problems requires solutions
sensitive to local social and ecological conditions
 Society and nature relations are affected by variations in
class, gender and ethnicity
 “Reproductive squeeze” forces peasants to intensify
production in fragile environments
Popular Development, Space and
Place

 Bottom up approaches (as opposed

to top-down) to peoples’
participation are important in this view
 How are various social groups and
classes affected by rural-urban, core-
periphery and other spatial
interactions?
 Growing importance of
“decentralization” of decision-making
and authority from center to periphery
Popular Development and Power

 How does the power structure affect development?

 Examine sources of empowerment, inequality and
discrimination
 Need to devise more people centered approaches which
stress empowerment and participation
 Empowerment as participatory development seeks to
engender self-help and self-reliance but also effective
collective decision-making
What causes underdevelopment?

 Very easy to focus on characteristics of development

 For example we know that underdevelopment is usually
characterized by: low per capita incomes, low literacy and
educational attainment, lack of basic services- water and
power
 But how do we EXPLAIN underdevelopment?
Some Common ‘Theories”

 Old view that absence of

development caused by certain
physical environments, particular
cultural traditions and value
systems-environmental and cultural
determinism
 Lack of natural resources certainly
impediment to development but
not impossible- example of Japan
 Why has Japan succeeded?
Reasons for Japanese Success

 Strong cooperation between government and business

 Able to adapt to spatial-physical situation and acquire a
maritime prowess
 Early development (Meiji restoration) of transport and
banking systems
 Highly literate population
 Niche development- technology driven
Other Common Explanations of
Underdevelopment

 Instability and other adverse internal

situations- political factors
 Some truth to this as extended periods of
turbulence are not conducive to
development- central African nations with
tribal rivalries and ethnic cleansing
 Poor physical environment- lack of rainfall,
poor soils also may pose barriers to
development
Vicious Circles- Gunnar Myrdal

 Complex web of interlocking vicious circles

each of which constitutes a chain of cause
and effect relationships where one
unfavorable circumstance leads to
another and produces downward spiral
 High Birth Rate> Large Families>Low PCI>
Poverty> Low Output Per Worker>
 Low PCI> Low Productivity> Poor
Health>Inadequate Housing
 Remedy > Downward spiral not reversible
without massive aid
Remedy for Vicious Circle

 Aid would stimulate growth in modern sector and

reduce size of ‘informal’ or traditional sector
 Thus eliminate dualism and the major causes of
unequal distribution of wealth
 Foreign aid would allow countries to increase low
levels of productivity
Another Common Explanation

 Colonialism As Scapegoat
 Attacking vicious circle proponents-do not explain how
these magic circles come into existence
 Need to view development in historical perspective as
sequence of dynamic events-explore roots
 Colonialism viewed as the cause of disintegration and
decline- how?
Colonialism as Scapegoat

 Indigenous population exploited

 Traditional way of life and self sufficient mode of production
have been destroyed
 Forced to pay taxes and conscripted labor practices
 Social differentiation increased- disintegrating force
 Fatal effects on secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary
(service) sectors- import of cheap goods forced indigenous
artisans out of work
 Discouraged modern industrialization
Colonialism as Scapegoat cont’d

 Thus what occurred in these situations was dependent not

autonomous development
 Colonial powers extracted wealth for home country-
Netherlands, France, Great Britain
 International division of labor (IDL) and western dominated
trading structure was created to take advantage of colonial
authority
 IDL=allocation of tasks among laborers such that each one
engages in tasks that he performs most efficiently and this
promotes worker specialization and productivity
What to Do With Development Theory
?
 Several theories have been advanced have been criticized
and some also discredited—to be replaced by other
theories
 Third World is very heterogeneous-dissimilar in terms of
population, resources, climates, culture , economic structure
and location
 Unlikely that one theory will be powerful enough to explain
underdevelopment everywhere
What to Say About Development Theory
?
 Underdevelopment must be seen as a product of an array of
complex and continuously changing interactions between:
 1. Past and Present
 2. Natural and Human Environments
 3. External and Internal Conditions
 Multitude of obstacles to development vary with place and
time
 Critical to remember that the above theoretical ideas aid us in
asking pertinent questions
Thanks

View publication stats