THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT

1
 Introduction
Definition of Development Studies
• Is a branch of social science/an academic discipline
concerned with the study of changes in societies,
economies and institutions of the third world
• DS course uses an interdisciplinary approach to
examine devpt processes and provides a critical
tools of analysis
• It is aimed at providing understanding of the
dynamics of socio-economic and political devpt in
the third world and Africa in particular

2
 Introduction
The concept of development
• Development is multidimensional process
that involves major changes in social
structures popular attitudes, and national
institutions,
• the acceleration of economic growth,
reduction of inequality and the eradication of
absolute poverty.
• The change should cover the entire social
system
3
 Introduction
• Objectives of development:
• To increase the availability and widen the
distribution of basic needs - food, shelter,
clothes and health
• To raise the level of living including higher
income, provision of employment, better
education and cultural value
• To expand the range of economic and social
choice to individual and nation by freeing
them from dependence

4
 Introduction
• Rodney, W defined devpt at the level of
individual as the increased skill and capacity,
• greater freedom, creativity, self-discipline,
responsibility and material well-being.
Economic development
• A society develops economically as its
members increase (jointly) their capacity to
deal with their environment.
• Economic devpt process should ideal yield
economic growth;
• improve quality of life and an equitable
distribution of resources 5
 Introduction
• Also increase the capacity of economy to
deal with its socio-economic and
environmental problems.
The main objectives of economic devpt is to
reduce/eradicate poverty;
• provide opportunities for employment and
personal advancement;
• provide basic needs; and narrow the income
disparities.
Social development
• Socially, development is viewed as the
process of human progress. 6
 Introduction
• Social development involves equal access to
essential basic services and opportunities
• Services such as education, health, easy
communications, recreation and a job.
Political development
• Involves democracy and freedom of the
individual to participate in politics.
The new economic view of development
• In 1960s a large of 3rd world nations achieved
the overall United Nations growth targets
7
 Introduction
• But the levels of living of the masses of
people remained for the most part
unchanged.
• Economists and policy makers turned to the
problems on wide spread absolute poverty;
• Increasingly inequitable income distribution;
and rising unemployment.
• Following these problems, in 1970s
economic devpt was redefined in terms of
the - reduction or elimination of poverty,
• Inequality and unemployment within the
context of a growing economy. 8
 Introduction
The questions to ask about a country’s
devpt today are:
• What has been happening to poverty?
• What has been happening to
unemployment?
• And what has been happening to inequality?
• If all three of these central problems have
worsened then,
• it is not a devpt even if the per capita income
doubled.
9
 Sustainable development
• Is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet
human needs while preserving the environ’t
• so that these needs can be met not only in
the present, but in the indefinite future
• sustainability requires the elimination of
poverty and deprivation;
• conservation and enhancement of the
resource base
• The field of sustainable devpt can be broken
into environ’tal, economic and sociopolitical
sustainability. 10
 Three core values of development
• When conceptualizing devpt as the sustained
elevation of an entire society and social
system towards better/good human life,
This good life should be based on at least
three basic components:
• life sustenance – the ability to provide basic
needs (food, shelter, health and protection).
• self-esteem - to be a person; a sense of
worth and self respect, of not been used as a
tool by others for their own needs.
11
 Three core values of development
• All peoples and societies seek some basic
form of self- esteem
• This can be called authenticity, identity,
dignity, respect, honour or recognition.
• Freedom from servitude: freedom from
being a slave/forced to obey another person
and be able to choose.
• Free from alienating material condition of life
and from social servitude to nature,
• ignorance, other people, misery, institutions
and dogmatic belief.
• Freedom involves the expanded range of
choices for societies and their members 12
 The meaning of devpt from the three core
values
• Rising of the general levels of living within a
nation to the point of lessening absolute
poverty (i.e. deprivation of life – sustaining
goods) inequality income distribution,
• improvement of the nature and quality of
educational, health and other social and
cultural services
• Enhancement of individual and group esteem
both internally when compared with one
another,
13
 The meaning of devpt from the three
core values
• and externally when compared with
other nations and regions
• Expansion of the range of human choice,
• Set people free from external dependence
• and internal servitude to other people and
institutions,
• rather than merely substituting one form of
dependence (e.g. economic).
14
 Indicators of development
• There are significant differences between
economic growth and economic devpt.
• economic growth is the key indicator of devt.
• It refers to the increase in real Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) of a nation adjusted
for inflation, usually measured in one year
• To evaluate how economic growth can feed
into economic devpt the growth rate of GDP
per capita is used
• i.e, output/person rather than using overall
output. GDP per capita = GDP / Popn.
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 Indicators of development
• for people’s incomes on average to increase
over time, the GDP growth rate must exceed
the rate of population growth.
Other development indicators include:
(ii) Literacy, education, and skills - (literacy,
education, training and skills,
• and opportunities for all members of society
to increase their capacities)
(iii) health - (life expectancy, maternal and
infant mortality, quality of life,
• and the levels of health care available in
situations of morbidity) 16
 Indicators of development
(iv) Income and economic welfare - (high
levels of employment, high incomes per
capita,
• and increased GNP, with appropriate
corrections for environmental protection and
for income equity)
(v) Choice, democracy, and participation
• (participation in social and economic affairs,
with fair economic rewards,
• the availability of reasonable choice, and
participation in the democratic process)
17
 Indicators of development
(vi) Technology - (the capacity to develop
technological innovations
• and to make technological choices).
Social Indicators of development
• size, growth, and structure of population;
• determinants of population growth (including
data on fertility and infant mortality);
• labour force; education and illiteracy;
• natural resources; income and poverty;
expenditure on food, housing, fuel and
power, 18
 Indicators of development
• transport and communication; and investment
in medical care and education.
Cultural indicators of development
• They are difficult to quantify but some of
indicators proposed include
• attitudes and approaches to support learning,
innovation, wealth creation, and social
development.

19
 Human development
• is the process of enlarging peoples’ choices
• to lead a long and healthy life, acquire
knowledge,
• have access to the resources needed for a
decent standard of living
• acquire political, economic and social
freedom to opportunities for being creative
and productive
• and enjoying personal self respect and
guaranteed human rights.
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 Human development
To achieve human development the
following components are essential
(i) Productivity – people must be enabled to
increase their productivity and to participate
fully in the process of income generation and
remunerative employment.
• Economic growth is therefore a subset of
human development model.
(ii) Equity – people must have access to equal
opportunities.

21
 Human development
(iii) Sustainability – access to opportunities
must be ensured not only for the present
generation
• but for future generations as well.
• All forms of capital – physical, human,
environmental should be replenished.
(iv) Empowerment – devpt must be by people,
not only for them.
• People must participate fully in the decisions
and processes that shape their lives. 22
 Developed and underdeveloped
economies
A developed economy 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;
• the production efficiency is very high leading
to high per capital incomes.
An underdeveloped economy
• the economy where production is carried on
with relatively small amount of capital 23
 Developed and underdeveloped
economies
• Use of primitive and old techniques.
• limited application of scientific and
technological improvements.
• low levels of production, the real incomes
per head of population and standards of
living
• and a heavy dependence upon a primitive
agrarian sector.

24
 Why Development Studies?
• It is over forty years since most African
countries attained political independence.
• Despite of the efforts made by African
political leaders and their people to
overcome devpt problems the situation in
has not improved much
• Africa remains underdeveloped and is
becoming more and more dependent on
developed western countries

25
 Why development studies?
• Its society and political process is still in
transition while its democracy is still very
much on the agenda
• Popn growth is still very high, per capital
income has continued to fall,
• the export sector is depressed and the
burden of debt remains most unbearable
• Mass poverty, sluggish agricultural growth,
severe environmental degradation, disease
and illness,
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 Why development studies?
• human degradation, conflicts and political
instability have become characteristics of the
African continent.
• Africa is locked in a vicious circle of
dependency and underdevpt
• The main issue is then how can African
countries develop and cope with the
demands of a new era of rapid change and
globalization
• Thus understanding various perspectives on
devpt theories is vital to acquire in-depth
understanding of Africa’s devpt problems
and challenges
27
 Why development studies?
• Also to understand how these countries are
to progress and overcome the persistent
state of underdevpt
• Therefore DS course provides an effective
understanding of the process of devpt which
is vital if Tanzania and other third world
countries are to progress and overcome
underdevpt
• As academicians we need to formulate
concrete strategies relevant for the devpt of
our nation 28
 Why development studies?
• Also we are required to be able to link devpt
theories to the existing national devpt
strategies and the world millennium devpt
goals
• We need to realize the effort of Tanzania to
fight against the obstacles of devpt;
• and grasp the gaps that exist in the path of
devpt process of Tanzania.
• Our government has been undertaking
various initiatives aimed at reducing poverty
in order to attain devpt 29
 Why development studies?
• One of these efforts is the formulation of
Tanzania Devpt Vision 2025
• It stipulates the vision, mission, goals and
targets to be achieved with respect to
economic growth and poverty eradication by
the year 2025.
The Vision aspires to attain:
• High quality livelihood
• Peace, stability and unity
• Good governance
• Well educated and learning society
• Competitive economy capable of producing
sustainable growth and shared benefits 30
 Why development studies?
• Another initiative is the formulation of the
National Strategy for Growth and Reduction
of Poverty (NSGRP)/MKUKUTA.
• The NSGRP keeps in focus the aspiration of
Tanzania Devpt Vision 2025.
• Its main goals are: to promote growth and
reduction of income poverty;
• improve the quality of life and social well
being;

31
 Why development studies?
• promote good governance and accountability
• The National Strategy for Growth and
Reduction of Poverty takes into
consideration the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) 2015 that are to:
• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality and empower
women.
32
 Why development studies?
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for devpt

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 Theories of social development
Definition of a theory
• A Theory is a statement or group of
statements established by reasoned
argument based on known facts, intended to
explain a particular fact or event.

• Theories of social devpt thus offer arguments

that attempt to explain the process of social
devpt.

34
 Marxist theory of development
• Marxist is one of the leading theories that
attempt to provide a critical analysis of the
devpt process.
• The founder of this theory was Karl Marx, a
German philosopher who lived during the 19th
C in Europe
• This was the early period of industrialization in
such nations as England, Germany, and the
United States.
• In this period majority of people in industrial
35
society were poor
 Marxist theory of development
• Those who owned and controlled the
factories and other means of production
exploited the masses that worked for them.
• They worked 12 hours a day at the
machines, six/seven days a week and
received only a subsistence wage.
• Only enough money to keep them alive
• The owners of the means of production
possessed great wealth, power and prestige
• Marx tried to understand the institutional
framework that produced such conditions
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 Marxist theory of development
• From his findings, Marx argues that the entire
history of devpt of human societies is seen as
the history of class conflict
• The conflict between those who own and
control the means of production and their
workers (the exploiters and the exploited)
• He believed that ownership of the means of
production in any society determines the
distribution of wealth, power, and even ideas
in that society
37
 Marxist theory of development
• The power of the wealthy is derived from
their control of the economy, political,
educational, and religious institutions
Main Elements within Marxism
(i) Classes are authority relationships based
on property ownership.
(ii) A class defines groupings of individuals
with shared life situations, thus interests.
(iii) Classes are naturally antagonistic by virtue
of their interests 38
 Main Elements within Marxism
(iv) Imminent within modern society is the
growth of two antagonistic classes and their
struggle, which eventually absorbs all social
relations.
(v) Political organization and Power is an
instrumentality of class struggle, and reigning
ideas are its reflection.
(vi) Structural change is a consequence of the
class struggle. Struggle over distribution of
the social product/surplus - the primacy of
class struggle
39
 Main Elements within Marxism
• Marx made class domination central to his
conception of social order, and class conflict
a defining feature of change in society.
• Marxists believe that a socialist society is
both the necessary and desirable end of
historical devpt
• A socialist society will be achieved through
overthrow of the ruling class and the
establishment of a dictatorship of the working
class
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 Main Elements within Marxism
• Marx held that a revolutionary situation
occurs when an existing mode of production
reaches the limits of its contradictions
• The decisive contradictions are economic
contradictions that develop between the
social forces and the social relations of
production
• Marxist theory strongly suggested that
revolutions should occur first in the most
economically advanced social formations of
a given mode of production
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 Marx's 5 Stages of Dev’t of Society
Marxist identified five stages of devpt of society
• Primitive Communalism (Ujima)

(ii) Feudalism (Ukabaila)

(iii) Capitalism (Ubepari)

(iv) Socialism (Ujamaa) and

(v) Communism/communist (Ukomunisti) 42

 Primitive Communalism
• Marks the rise of society from sheer animal to
human society
• Means of production were communal owned.
• The relations of production were collective,
people lived and worked together
• The instruments of labour were crude and
underdeveloped.
• Labour productivity was low with no surplus
and there was equal distribution of the
products
• People organized themselves in clan or
family, no classes and therefore no states,
kingdoms etc 43
 Feudalism
• Emergence of surplus in production and
classes
• Feudalism was based on class antagonism
between opposing classes.
• Private ownership started which was based
on private property in land
• This resulted into two classes of the
landowners and serfs.
• The serfs had a land holding to build their
shelters which they rented from the landlord
• Also serfs owned their means of labour
44
 Feudalism
• In this mode of production Feudal estates
were the main source of wealth.
• Serfs were required to offer labour services
to the land lords, rent in kind – offer their
portion of produce to the land lords.
• Later the money land rent was introduced
and the serfs were required to pay other
customary dues as introduced by the land
owner or feudal lord.
• They were also required to offer military
services when required ironically.
45
 Feudalism
• Feudal lords demand dues and other
payments because they offered defense to
the serfs and peasants who lived around
their manors.
• The landlords exploited the serfs and the
serfs struggled to free themselves from
this exploitative relationship.
• Contradictions and growing class struggle
led to the disintegration of feudalism.

46
 Feudalism
• Major devpts during feudal include devpt in
agriculture
• i.e. wide use of iron ploughs, increased
acreage, use of water mills,
• improvement in crop husbandry through the
introduction of better practices e.g. mulching,
crop rotation, etc
• rapid increase of population due to
improvement in food production
• e.g. Western Europe had a popn of 20mill in
10th c, in 14th c the popn were about 54mill.47
 Feudalism
• Other developments were the growth of
towns as production centers.
• Trade was conducted between towns and
between towns and manors.
• The introduction of money accelerated the
growth of commercial towns and become self
governing commercial.
• The land owners enjoyed both political and
military autonomy.
• The Mediterranean region became the center
of world commerce which was connected to
Western Europe with Asia and Africa
48
 Capitalism
• Emerged as a result of the industrial
revolution in Europe.
• Land (the major factor of production) was
replaced by capital and serfdom was
replaced by the wage labour.
• Capitalism led to the emergence of
commodity production.
• Human labour also became a commodity.
• Private ownership of means of production is
a basic characteristic of capitalism
• Relations of production are exploitative. 49
 Capitalism
• Capitalists who are owners of means of
production, exploit the workers.
• The working class is exploited by selling their
labour power.
• Capitalist economies expand through capital
export
• Capital export become a driving force for
imperialist expansion
• The dominant objective of Capitalist class is
to accumulate wealth/surplus through
productive investments
50
 Capitalism
• These accumulation leads capitalists to
search constantly for means, including
technical innovation
• They compete against each other for the
available markets striving to increase their
market shares
• Their competition undercuts and destroys all
backward pre-capitalist producers
• E.g. artisans, peasants as well as the less
efficient capitalists.
• Capitalists dominate the state and use the
state institutions to promote their own
interests. 51
 Capitalism
• Capitalists’ disorder competition (no any
central co-ordination) lead to periodic crises
of overproduction and under consumption.
• These crises also are caused by a decline in
the rate of profit due to capital intensification
• Also due to increasing labour scarcity and
rising wages.
• During these periods weaker firms collapse
and/or are bought out by the stronger ones,
• Labour is laid off and wages tend to fall
consequently. 52
 Capitalism
• In the stronger firms which survive the initial
risk in costs and /or drop in demand the rate
of profit tend to rise again.
• Employers may also raise the rate of surplus
per worker by forcing to work longer hours
for the same wage.
• Ultimately a fresh and particularly deep crisis
associated with wide spread loss of
employment will occur
• This crisis will move the proletariats to rise
up
53
 Capitalism
• The proletariats will seize both the means of
production and state power
• from the capitalist class; establishing in their
stead a socialist workers state.
• Thus contradictions between capital and
labour will lead to the downfall of capitalism.

54
 Socialism
• Socialism according to Marx, is the logical
stage of social devpt after mature capitalism.
• It is the consequence of the growth of
productive forces.
• Socialism establishes the dictatorship of the
proletariat/working class
• Involves public ownership and control of the
major means of production and distribution.
• Relations of production are non-
antagonistic/non-exploitative.
• No exploitation, all people work according to
their abilities and they are remunerated
according to their needs. 55
 Communism

• Is supposed to be the highest level of social

development
• No exploitative relations of production
• There is a ”withering” away of the state
towards a stateless and classless society
• In a communist or socialist economy,
investment and consumption are primarily
determined by the national plan.

56
 Critique of Marxist theory
• Marxist 'universal' theory views world
capitalism in terms of the 'centre' and the
'periphery
• Capitalism at the centre developed an
internal dynamism of its own which is absent
at the periphery
• The periphery is complementary to, and
dominated by, the centre
• The Marxists argue that the devpt process
therefore is a process typified by imbalances
and social conflicts.
57
 Critique of Marxist theory
• A close look at the devpt process under
capitalism verifies the truth of this observation
• As the gap between the rich and the poor
between developed and developing countries
is increasing.
• Marxist theory is often criticized by Modern
theorists for concentrating too much on
conflict - class struggle and change
• Also concentrating too little on what produces
stability in society
58
 Critique of Marxist theory
• They are also criticized for being too
ideologically based.
• Those who put forward this argument
however fail to refute the existence of
conflicts and class struggle in society
• Also the reality that conflicts and class
struggles characterize the devpt process.
• Marxist theory is descriptive and predictive of
social life.
• It is able to provide a descriptive picture of
socio-economic formations, particularly that
of the capitalist economic system 59
 Critique of Marxist theory
• Its main strength lies in its analysis of social
relations that arise in the process of
production
• Also the conflicting social classes that are
eventually the motive force of devpt.
• Others have criticized Marxist analysis that
the theory does not give particular attention
to the African situation
• The theory did not show kind of classes
existed in Africa (if any),
• Also did not show the nature of the relations
of production, the nature of the class struggle
existed in Africa, etc 60
 Critique of Marxist theory
• Therefore one can argue that Marxist theory of
underdevpt is not complete.
• This task has been taken over by neo Marxists
• The neo Marxists attempt to provide answers
to the prevailing state of underdevpt and
backwardness of third world countries
• However Marxist theory remains significant
because of its ability to highlight the
exploitative nature of the capitalist economic
system
• Also to highlight how this gives rise to
classes/social divisions and conflicts
61
 Critique of Marxist theory
• The Marxist theory is a revolutionary theory
as it advocates change
• a change for the better away from
exploitation, injustice and inequality
• In summary Marx divided history into
several stages, conforming to broad pattern
in the economic structure of society
• The most important stages for Marx’s
argument were feudalism, capitalism and
socialism
62
 Critique of Marxist theory
• For Marx, the central institution of capitalist
society is private property,
• the system by which capital is controlled by a
small minority of the population
• This system leads to two opposed classes,
the owners of capital (bourgeoisie) and the
workers (the proletariat)
• The only property of proletariats is their own
labour time sold to the capitalists
• Owners of capital make profits by paying
workers less than their work is worth and,
thus, exploit them
63
 Critique of Marxist theory
• In Marxist terminology, material forces of
production or means of production include
capital, land, and labor,
• whereas social relations of production refer
to the division of labor and implied class
relationships
• Economic exploitation leads directly to
political oppression
• as owners make use of their economic power
to gain control of the state
• They turn the state into a servant of
bourgeois economic interests
64
 Critique of Marxist theory
• Because ruling class controls the social
relations of production, the dominant ideology
in capitalist society is that of the ruling class.
• Ideology and social institutions, in turn, serve
to reproduce and perpetuate the economic
class structure.
• Thus, Marx viewed the exploitative economic
arrangements of capitalism as the real
foundation
• A foundation upon which the superstructure
of social, political, and intellectual
consciousness is built.
65
 Critique of Marxist theory
• He believed that any stage of history based
on exploitative economic arrangements
generated within itself the seeds of its own
destruction.
• E.g. feudalism gave rise to a class of town-
dwelling merchants
• Their dedication to make profits led to the
bourgeois revolution and the modern
capitalist era.
• Similarly, Marx believed that the class
relations of capitalism will lead inevitably to
the next stage, socialism. 66
 Critique of Marxist theory
• This is because the class relations of
capitalism embody a contradiction: capitalists
need workers, and vice versa,
• but the economic interests of the two groups
are fundamentally at odds
• Such contradictions mean inherent conflict
and instability, the class struggle
• Marx expected the resulting economic cycles;
and worker tensions to eventually culminate
in a socialist revolution
67
 Impact of Marxist theory on
Contemporary Theories of Social Devpt
• Marxist Theory - an ideology and theory of
social change had an immense impact on the
practice and the analysis of social
movements
• Marxism arose from an analysis of
movements structured by conflicts
• conflicts between industrial workers and their
capitalist employers in the 19th
• In the 20th century a variety of neo-Marxist
theories have been developed 68
 Impact of Marxist theory on
Contemporary Theories of Social Devpt
• The neo-Marxist have added questions of
race, gender, environment
• Also have added other issues to an analysis
centered in political economic conditions
• Marxist approaches remained influential
ways of understanding the role of political
economy
• Also understanding class differences as key
forces in many historical and current social
movements 69
 Impact of Marxist theory on
Contemporary Theories of Social Devpt
• However, time and history have invalidated
many of Marx’s assumptions and predictions.
• Capitalist ownership and control of
production have been separated.
• Joint stock companies forming most of the
industrial sector are now almost wholly
operated by non-capital-owning managers.
• Workers have not grown homogeneous but
are divided and subdivided into different skill
groups.
70
 Impact of Marxist theory on
Contemporary Theories of Social Devpt
• Class stability has been undercut by the
devpt of a large middle class and
considerable social mobility.
• Rather than increasing extremes of wealth
and poverty, there has been a social leveling
and an increasing emphasis on social justice.
• And finally, bourgeois political power has
progressively weakened with growth in
worker oriented legislation
• and of labor-oriented parties 71
 Impact of Marxist theory on
Contemporary Theories of Social Devpt
• Also the rights and privileges of capital
ownership have been narrowed.
• Most important, the severest manifestation of
conflict between workers and capitalist - the
strike - has been institutionalized through
collective bargaining legislation and the
legalization of strikes.
• These historical events and trends
notwithstanding, the sociological outlines of
Marx's approach have much value.
72
 Impact of Marxist theory on
Contemporary Theories of Social Devpt
• His emphasis on conflict, on classes, on
their relations to the state,
• and on social change was a powerful
perspective that should not be discarded.
• The spirit, if not the substance, of his
theory is worth developing.

73
 Modernization Theories of Development
• Is the theory used to summarize modern
transformations of social life.
• The theory looks at the internal factors of the
country.
• It assumes that with help, "traditional"
countries can develop in the same ways
"modern" countries did.
• Most Modernization theories argue that
countries pass through phases during the
course of devpt
• by identifying these stages, according to
certain characteristics, country
• can have reached a certain stage of devpt. 74
 Modernization Theories of Development
• They suggest that to attain sustained and
self-generating economic growth,
• third world societies must undergo the same
transition from traditionalism to modernity
previously experienced by developed
countries.
• Modernization theories attempt to identify the
social variables which contribute to the social
progress and devpt of certain societies
• Also these theories seek to explain the
details of social evolution.
75
 Modernization Theories of Development
• The theory stresses the process of change and
the response to that change.
• also it looks at internal dynamics referring to
social and cultural structure and the adaptation
of new technologies.
• The Modernization theorist outlook of devpt is
that many things are involved in the devpt
process.
• These include markets, resources,
infrastructures, organization, entrepreneurship

76
 Modernization Theories of Development
• and investment, all of which are related to
one another.
• To most Modernization theorists devpt is
defined as gradual advance or growth
through progressive changes
• i.e. a move from one stage to another - a
higher stage than the previous
• Examples of the Modernization theories of
development include W. Rostow - Stages of
economic growth;
77
 Modernization Theories of Development

• Ragnar Nurkse - Vicious Circle of Poverty

• J. Schumpeter – The theory of motive force,
process and goal
• J. K. Galbraith – The concept of
countervailing power; and
• Leibeinstein – The gap approach

78
 Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth
Model
• The best known and most explicit
presentation of the Modernization view of
historical devpt.
• The theory modifies Marx's stages theory of
devpt
• It focuses on the accelerated accumulation of
capital, through the utilization of both
domestic and international savings,
• in order to encourage investment which is
the primary means of promoting economic
growth and, thus, devpt. 79
 Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth
• The essence of the Rostow thesis is that it is
logically and practically possible to identify
stages of devpt and to classify society
according to those stages.
• According to Rostow, all countries must pass
through those stages of economic growth
during the process of devpt.
• These stages are: the “traditional society”,
the emergence of pre-conditions for take-off,
the “take-off‘ stage, the drive to maturity and
the age of high mass consumption
80
 The “traditional society”
• There is little knowledge of the outside world,
low level of science and technology hence
limited production
• The main occupation is agriculture where
very high proportion of their resources is
devoted to
• social organization is through family and
clan/tribal connections and the unit of
production is family.
• According to Rostow, most societies
emerged from the traditional stage some
time ago
• today there are very few, if any, societies that
one would class as traditional
81
 The “traditional society”

• However, Africa continent seems to be

moving in the direction of the traditional
society
• Over 50% of Africa's popn are living in
conditions of extreme poverty and on
subsistence living.
• Africa is the only continent where poverty is
increasing
• It appears that Africa is not moving forward in
terms of devpt but is becoming more and
more underdeveloped.
82
 The emergence of the pre-conditions for
take-off
• behavioural changes begin to take place
within the society
• people begin to show increased tendency to
strive for material advancement through the
devpt and application of science.
• The stage requires three radical changes
which are: the building-up of social overhead
capital (education, health and
communications infrastructure),
• technological revolution in agriculture
and an expansion of imports. 83
 The emergence of the pre-conditions for
take-off cont..
• Emergence of a new elite to channel surplus
product from agriculture to industry
• The establishment of an effective modern
government - is vital due to the extent of the
task of transition
• The length of the transition phase depends
on the speed with which local talent, energy
and resources are devoted to modernization
• Political leadership will have an important
part to play.

84
 The “Take-Off”
• a short stage of devpt during which growth
becomes self-sustaining.
• all the resistances and bottlenecks to growth
are overcome so that growth becomes a
routine or normal condition.
• a massive and progressive structural
transformation in economies and their
societies occurs
• It is a stage of high investment rates
improved efficiency and technical change
85
 The “Take-Off”
• The beginning of the take-off can usually be
traced to a particular sharp stimulus
(something, which is the cause of activity:
light is a stimulus to growth in plants).
• The stimulus may take the form of a political
revolution, a technological innovation or
(including transport) or a newly favourable
international environment such as the
opening of British and French markets to
Swedish timber in the 1860’s.
86
 The “Take-Off” cont…
• However, some take-offs have occurred
with virtually no capital imports e.g. Britain
and Japan.
• Some take-offs have had a high component
of foreign capital e.g. the USA, Russia and
Canada.
• and some countries have imported large
quantities of foreign capital for long periods
without attaining the take-off stage e.g.
• Argentine before 1714, Venezuela & in
recent yrs, Democratic Republic of Congo. 87
 The drive to maturity
• The period when society effectively applies
the range of modern technology to the bulk of
its resources
• New leading sectors replace the old
• Rostow sees the devpt of the steel industry as
one of the symbols of maturity.
• Structural changes in society such as
changes in the distribution of the work-force;
• the growth of an urban popn; an increase in
the proportion of white-collar workers;
88
 The drive to maturity
• and a switch in industrial leadership from the
entrepreneur to the manager
• political features - nations grow confident
and exert themselves politically
• society make fundamental political choices
on the use to which greater wealth should be
put

89
 The Age of High Mass Consumption
• There is increased productivity to satisfy
society's demands
• the maximum output is produced in the most
efficient manner.
• The economy produces those goods and
services which people desire;
• Technology is highly advanced and
economic growth is virtually automatic
• If devpt has not occurred then the reason
must be that something interferes with this
automatic process. 90
 Analysis/Critique of Rostow's Theory
• Rostow’s theory assumes that the conditions,
which allowed western countries to
industrialize and thus develop, would be
identical to young independent states.
• This is not the case particularly in the case of
Africa.
• Rostow’s stages of economic growth bear
little resemblance to Africa and other third
world countries.
• One can not be able to determine Africa’s
stage of economic devpt by using Rostow’s
stages of economic growth
91
 Analysis/Critique of Rostow's Theory
• the characteristics that Rostow distinguishes for his
different stage are not unique to those stages
• the demarcation between one stage to another is
unclear
• The theory can not be tested empirically because it
lacks quantitative evidence for assertions made
• Also Rostow's description of the characteristics of
some of the stages are not sufficiently specific to
define the relevant empirical evidence even if data
were available.

92
 Rostow's Theory on Underdevelopment
• Rostow's model assumes that present-day
developed countries were once
underdeveloped and that all countries move
through all these stages of growth.
• But the so-called developed countries
established the basis for their take-off on the
basis of looting and stealing from overseas
• Many third world countries, particularly
African countries were exploited under the
slave trade, colonialism and by imperialists
expansion 93
 Rostow's Theory on Underdevelopment
• These countries are attempting to accelerate
their devpt from a lower economic level than
was true for the presently rich countries at
the time of their rapid rates of devpt.
• For these African countries, underdevpt is
not a natural stage of human devpt.
• Africa appears to be moving backwards or
developing in a zigzag manner and not in the
linear form that Rostow suggests
• Devpt is seen primarily as a matter of
“economic growth”
94
 Rostow's Theory on Underdevelopment
• secondarily devpt is seen as a problem of
securing social changes associated with
growth.
• Rostow’s stages and thesis is incorrect
because they do not correspond at all to the
past or present reality of the underdeveloped
countries
• Rostow does not take into serious
consideration the historical experience of the
underdeveloped countries
95
 Rostow's Theory on Underdevelopment
• or the continues exploitation of these
countries by ruthless
multinational/transnational companies
• However, Rostow offers some extremely
valuable insights into the devpt process,
• particularly economic devpt in developed
capitalist countries
• The essential characteristics and stages of
economic devpt in a developed modern
economy are outlined.
96
 Rostow's Theory on Underdevelopment

• The assumption that the developing

countries will follow a similar path cannot be
easily discarded
• E.g. the role of investment in raising the rate
of growth
• Rostow has aroused theoretical interest in
the history and causes of the growth of the
wealth of nations.
97
 Vicious Circle of Poverty theory
• Ragnar Nurkse was a prominent economist
professor who attempted to examine
problems of capital formation in
underdeveloped countries.
• The theory expresses the circular
relationships that afflict both the demand and
the supply side of the problem of capital
formation in economically backward areas.
• Nurkse stresses the role of savings and
capital formation in economic devpt.
98
 Vicious Circle of Poverty theory
• According to him a society is poor because it
is poor.
• A society with low income has both low
levels of savings and low levels of
consumption.
• The low level of savings means that low
investment,
• while the low levels of consumption means
not enough market to induce investments
• even if the capital for investment were
available.
99
 Vicious Circle of Poverty theory
Low income

Inability to - Low saving

productive capacity - Low consumption

- Low investment
- Lack of markets

100
 Vicious Circle of Poverty theory
• The low investment in turn means little ability
to expand productive capacity that results in
low incomes in the economy
• According to Nurkse the backward countries
have failed to enjoy the stimulating effects of
the manufacturing industry because of
limitation of the domestic market for
manufactures articles.
• The way out of this circle is to enlarge the
market
• Application of capital in a wide range of
different industries
101
 Vicious Circle of Poverty theory
• Application of massive and balanced
investment programme for growth to occur
• putting emphasis on domestic savings and
the role of the state for balanced growth
The relevance of Nurkse’s Theory
• There is little doubt that third world countries,
particularly those in Africa, are locked in a
vicious circle of poverty
• The historical causes of poverty in the third
world countries are not underlined by
Nurkse’s theory.
• A realistic way out of this vicious circle is also
not provided by Nurkse's theory. 102
 Vicious Circle of Poverty theory
• The theory ignores the reality of
underdeveloped countries characterized
by dependent economies, which makes it
impossible to create an environment for
massive investment and balanced growth.
• Thus Nurkse's theory, only succeeds in
indicating the extent of poverty or
backwardness of the underdeveloped
countries
• it throws very little on our understanding of
the causes of poverty.

103
 Modernization by WB & IMF
• Recently there has been a resurgence of
the Modernization school of thought led
by the World Bank and the IMF
• They identify and concentrate on problems
of inefficient allocation and utilization of
resources rather than lack of productive
capacity, backward production techniques
or investment as the causes of
underdevlpt.
• This is also shown to be the result of bad
economic policy framework and
subsequently economic mismanagement.
104
 Modernization by WB & IMF
• They recommend Economic
Recovery Programmes (ERP's) and
Structural Adjustment Programmes
(SAP's) to stimulate economic
efficiency.
• The reality is that developing
countries remain underdeveloped
while the power of international
financial institutions increases to the
extent of directing the devpt process.

105
 Critique of Modernization Theories
• According to modernization theorists the task
of planned devpt is to hasten the evolution of
preconditions to facilitate the take off period.
• the rapid success of the take off period is tied
to radical changes in methods of production.
• inflows of industrial technology must be
supplemented with “modern management,
modern education, etc…”
• The goal is to create economic and social
conditions similar to those in DCs hopping
that these created conditions will achieve
similar results. 106
 Critique of Modernization Theories
• The Modernization view of devpt grows out
of the model of competitive market capitalism
• The forces of competition ensure that the
economy produces those goods which
people desire
• maximum output is produced in the most
efficient manner.
• This process does not function in most third
world countries
• To think that simply by expanding investment
a country will be able to raise its income
• or savings and consumption is a highly 107
mechanical way of looking at things.
 Critique of Modernization Theories
• Many developing countries have been
increasing investment but this has not given rise
to savings, consumption or sustainable devpt
• The theorists fail to explain the structure and
devpt of the capitalist system as a whole
• They fail to account for its simultaneous
generation of underdevpt in some parts and of
economic devpt in others
• i.e. western countries becoming richer while
developing countries, becoming poorer
• Reasons given are not sufficient to explain the
causes and persistence of underdevpt

108
 Critique of Modernization Theories
• They look at the symptoms but do not
adequately explain the causes of these
symptoms
• they did not come out with any meaningful
solution to the problem of underdevpt.
• Despite the WB and IMF recommendations
of ERP's and SAP's to stimulate economic
efficiency,
• the reality is that developing countries remain
underdeveloped while the power of
international financial institutions increases to
the extent of directing the devpt process. 109
 Comparative Analysis of Modernization
and Marxist Theories

Some broad similarities between

Modernization and Marxist theories
• They attempt to interpret the evolution of
whole societies primarily from an economic
perspective.
• They recognize that economic change has
social, political and cultural consequences.
• They fail to explain underdevpt sufficiently
and give tentative suggestions on the way
to eradicate it 110
 Comparative Analysis of Modernization
and Marxists
Differences between Modernization and
Marxists theories:
• Marx highlights the problems of class
conflicts, exploitation and inherent stresses
within the capitalist process but
Modernization theorists ignore these aspects
• Modernization Theorists avoid the Marxian
assertion that the behavior of societies is
uniquely determined by economic
considerations.
111
 Comparative Analysis of Modernization
and Marxists
• Modernization theorist's outlook of devpt is that
many things are involved in the process of devpt
• These are markets, resources, infrastructures,
organization, entrepreneurship and investments.
• The Marxists devpt involves people, class
relations/class struggle
• Modernization theorists believe that for the presently
underdeveloped nations, the inner mechanics of the
take-off involve problems of capital formation.

• To Marxists it is only by understanding the forces of

underdevpt that the contradictions can be located
and the struggle launched to resolve them. 112
 Comparative Analysis of Modernization
and Marxists
• Modernization theory does not focus on the
unique situation of the LDCs and how their
history and current position influences their
devpt.

• Marxist theory did not give particular

attention to the African situation i.e. what
kinds of classes existed in Africa, the nature
of the relations of production, the class
struggle in Africa etc.
113
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• Dependence is a conditioning situation in
which the economies of one group of
countries are conditioned by the devpt and
expansion of others.
• It occurs when some countries can expand
on as a reflection of the expansion of the
dominant countries,
• This may have positive or negative effects on
their immediate devpt
• Dependency theorists are concerned with the
whole relationship between advanced
countries and third world countries.
114
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• According to them underdevpt entails a
stagnation situation that developing nations
cannot overcome
• because developing nations are dependent
upon industrialized nations that benefit from
the disparities between devpt and
underdevpt
• Also they argue that the economy of
underdeveloped countries must be analyzed
together with the devpt of capitalist countries
115
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• This is because the economy of developing
countries was in large part conditioned by
events in the advanced countries through
trade, migration, capital and technology flows
• The dependency school of thought includes
various theorists who may all be loosely
described as part of the dependency school.
• The neo-Marxism those whose thought
originates from Marxist e.g. Paul Baron
• For them dependency is the inevitable
outcome of capitalist devpt in the advanced
countries
116
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• For others dependency has its origin in Latin
American e.g. Furtado & Frank, Graffin,
Sunkel, Dos Santos, Szentes.
• Dependency theorists concentrate on
explaining the fundamental specific flaws of
Modernization approaches.
• Frank using the experience of Latin
America, points out that the 3rd world
countries cannot move from traditional
society towards the stage of high mass
consumption 117
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• This is because of the penetration of
capitalist system even to the most isolated
sectors of the underdeveloped world.
• This penetration he suggests has made the
economies of the underdeveloped dependent
upon those of the developed nations.
• He supports the view that the relationship
between the developed capitalist world and
the underdeveloped world is inherently
exploitative.
118
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• It leads to the continued enrichment of some
nations and the perpetual stagnation and
poverty of other nations.
• Thus a central argument of the dependency
school is that dependence generates
underdevpt
• According to them underdevpt is not simply a
stage that pre-dates devpt as the
Modernization theory states.

119
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• Rather, underdevpt is the historical
consequence of dependence that was
initiated by colonialism and sustained by neo-
colonialism.
• Poor countries are underdeveloped because
they have been colonized by developed
countries.
• The impact of the advanced countries on the
third world had caused their underdevpt.

120
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• The nature of the impact and terms of
such impact of the DCs, particularly of
the capitalist countries, on the 3rd world,
• were to impoverish the third world
economically, culturally and
psychologically.
• The dependent relationship is also
exhibited in political institutions and
political decision making
121
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• As a result many third world countries are
incapable of following an alternative path.
• This is not only because the world
economic facts of life make it impossible,
• but because the cultural, psychological
and economic pressures of the dependent
relationship have conditioned decision-
makers in 3rd world so that they do not
wish to follow an alternative strategy.
• Thus it was argued that many poor
countries were relatively better off in 18th C
122
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• Also per capita income was substantially
higher than it is today.
• According to Frank underdevpt was not an
original stage, but rather a created condition
• to emphasize this, he points to the British
de-industrialization of India,
• the destructive effects of the slave trade on
African societies
• and the destruction of the Indian civilizations
in central and South America.
123
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• They agree that some effort within developing
countries must be made to break the cycle of
economic and political reliance on dominant
capitalist nations
• Most of the dependency school appear to
believe that a break is possible but most neo-
Marxists do not
• they consider the relationship as the
inevitable outcome of capitalist devpt

124
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• According to neo-Marxists, only a change at
the center will make change at periphery
possible.
• This is because the state is controlled by the
upper classes that benefit with the
maintenance of the structure of dependence
in periphery societies,
• the reforms recommended in the form of
state intervention would do little to foster
development.
125
 Dependency theorists on underdevpt
• According to dependency school then, the
only way out of this structural stagnation is a
socialist revolution
• A revolution that would bring an end to
private ownership of capital, and which
would foster central planning of the economy
The relevance of dependency theory
• The dependency perspectives focus on the
unevenness of the distribution of wealth
between core and periphery.
• The theory was a most valuable contribution
to modern social science. 126
 Dependency theorists on
underdevpt
• It contains an effective criticism of the
modernization paradigm
• provided an alternative perspective to devpt
theory
• still functions as a catalyst in the devpt
theory, which is taking shape at the present.
Weaknesses
• neglected the role of contemporary internal
political and economic conditions of the 3rd
world countries
127
 Critique of Dependency Theory
• External dependency in the past and at
present is a necessary but not a sufficient
factor to consider in explaining deficiency in
devpt.
• Internal politics must be added to the
analysis of external impacts when pursuing
this line of study
• The ultimate causes of underdevpt are not
identified
• Dependency analysis neglects the
anthropological level of analysis, i.e. the local
community. 128
 Modernization Vs Dependency Theories
Explanations on differences in wealth
between rich and poor countries
• According to Modernization theory or a
country to become modern, it has to
industrialize first.
• Scholars who support modernization theory
believe that the rich countries are wealthy
because of embracing the concept of
modernity.
• Modernity, for them, brings the blessings of
progress in every sphere of human life.
129
 Modernization Vs Dependency Theories
• According to Modernization theory the North
grew rich because they discovered the
secrets of sustained economic growth.
• The cultural values, social, political, and
economic institutions that provided the keys
to northern devpt are embodied in the notion
of modernity.
• The modern person, according to
modernization theory believes in the power
of reason to tame and transform nature.
130
 Modernization Vs Dependency Theories
• Modern societies are creative and open to
change.
• According to them, the economies of
traditional societies involve either
subsistence agriculture
• or feudal or semi feudal landholding where
small amount of surplus is produced
• The most critical element in the transition
from a traditional society to a modern one is
the emergence of a system of rewards for
innovation
131
 Modernization Vs Dependency Theories
• Society must be willing to tolerate the
inequalities resulting from private returns for
innovations that have high social value.“
• Suggest the rise of capitalist institutions as
the key in turning traditional societies into
modern ones.
• The poor countries are poor because they
have not discarded their "traditional ways of
organizing society."
• This hinder modern capitalist institutions to
emerge.
132
 Modernization Vs Dependency Theories
• They suggest that third World must undergo
the same transition from traditionalism to
modernity previously experienced by the
North,
• before sustained and self-generating
economic growth becomes possible in the
South.
• Thus the principle obstacle to modernization
arises from the persistence of traditional
cultural values
133
 Modernization Vs Dependency Theories
• Also institutions in the South that are
incompatible with economic growth and
industrialization.
• Supporters of modernization theory agree that
economic interdependence between rich and poor
countries is useful
• for the exchange of material benefits, receiving the
reward of trade and absorbing modernizing values
• Modernizing values are absorbed by eroding and
undermining the traditional social values and
structures that hold back devpt
134
 Modernization Vs Dependency Theories

• On the other hand according to Dependency

theorists and other critics of modernization
theory problem of underdevpt lies with the
exploitative relationship between rich and
poor states.
• They illustrate this relationship by using a
center and periphery analogy.
• The center is composed of countries that
have advanced industrialization,
135
 Modernization Vs Dependency Theories

• advanced technology, high wage rates, and

high living standards;
• the periphery, on the other hand, composed
of countries that are complete the opposite
of the center.
• The center exploits the poor countries (the
periphery)

136
 Negative effects of dependence
Dependency theorists argue that the process
of underdevpt was initiated by imperialism or
colonialism and sustained by neo-
colonialism exploitative measures.
(i) Exploitation of the cheap labour, capital and
raw materials including mineral resources of
the third world countries and then
• Re-exportation back of industrial products at
overstated prices.
• The establishment of plantation economies
that distort the economic and cultural
lifestyles of the indigenous populations
137
 Negative effects of dependence
(ii) The most fundamental decisions as to
where and in what to invest are made in the
core countries, at the headquarters of TNCs
(iii) The logic of dependence is outwardly
oriented and prevents the expansion of the
internal market.
(iv) The various neo-colonial exploitative
measures in the areas of international trade,
investment and aid that ensures the rapid
flow of surpluses from LDCs to DCs
138
 Negative effects of dependence
(v) The centre-periphery relationship works in
favour of the developed countries and a few
privileged people (the elites)
• The elites enter into symbiotic relationships
with foreign investors in the third world
countries through managerial or intermediary
role they play for the MNCs/TNCs
• These elites (urban based) reap some of the
benefits of the Western Capitalism

139
 Negative effects of dependence
• Thus the Western capitalism causes and
rein-forces dualistic markets and inter-
regional and intra-regional inequalities in the
3rd world countries
• i.e. periphery and semi-periphery produces
an unbalanced economic structure both
within the peripheral societies and between
them and the centers.
• These are reflected by the widening spatial
income differentials within regions and urban
and rural areas.
140
 Negative effects of dependence
• The benefit of the Western based capitalism
in the 3rd world do not trickle down to the
majority poor and therefore causes a
distorted or uneven type of devpt.
• This leads to limitations on self-sustained
growth in the periphery and favors the
appearance of specific patterns of class
relations.
(vi) The wealthy class who influence the ruling
classes are tied by their economic as well as
ideology preferences to foreign capital 141
 Negative effects of dependence
• They continue to enjoy the privileged status
in the society.
• They play no dynamic economic role but use
their control or influence to protect foreign
interests in the individual third world
countries.
• They do not positively contribute to
indigenous or national capital-accumulation
• They expropriate funds via excess luxurious
consumption and through the accumulation
of savings abroad.
142
 Negative effects of dependence
(vii) The inappropriate western oriented

industrialization, which was too import-

dependent
• causes and perpetuates the uneven or
distorted devpt
• e.g. the capital intensive industries which
usually produce luxury consumer goods
• tend to aggravate the income inequalities
between the marginalized popn and the
urban industrial workers.
• MNCs exploit the poor countries by bringing
technology that is of little use in the local
context or obsolete 143
 Negative effects of dependence
(viii) The western capitalism various
mechanisms that were used to ensure
capital flight from the third world countries
• The persistently unequal or negative terms
of trade for the products of the third world
countries in the international markets.
• Profit repatriation by the subsidiaries of
MNCs found in the third world countries.
• Transfer payments such as royalty
payments and management fees charged
by the subsidiaries of the MNCs
144
 Negative effects of dependence
• Transfer pricing undertaken by the MNCs to
ensure that funds are transferred indirectly
• This was done by overstating import prices
while understating export prices.
• overstated prices charged by the MNCs, for
shipping, insurance and other invincible
imports.
• Amortization and interest payments on loans
contracted sometimes by the governments
of the third world countries.
145
 Negative effects of dependence
• Serving the accumulated foreign debts is
impoverishing given the high interest rates
• Also the extra burden caused by the
declining values of the domestic
currencies which tends to increase cash
outflow.
• Ironically some of the debts are contracted
to offset balance of payments attributable
to the already listed surplus transfer
mechanisms.

146
 Theoretical Approaches to the Study of
African Development
• Goran Hyden (1994) defines devpt as the
product of human efforts that has architects
and auditors.
• The architects are typically persons with a
vision
• The principal auditors of devpt are
academics
• The task of academics is to assess within a
given theoretical perspective
147
 Theoretical Approaches to the Study of
African Development
• how successful the architects are in shaping
the process of social change according to
their own modules.
• Goran points out that one of the most striking
things about the devpt debate in Africa is how
little it has been shaped by African architects
(political leaders and persons with a vision)
• Goran argues that it is the international
community that has helped set the African
devpt agenda.
• It is to the ideological perspective of the
donor community that Africa has to respond. 148
 Neo-Marxist Political Economy
• Neo Marxists are leading advocates of the
dependency theory
• They attempt to apply Marxism to advance
Marxist political economy on a “new’
framework to suit existing conditions.
• They provide a critique to structural
functionalism
• They argue that structural functionalism was
naive in assuming that devpt is the best
pursued in conditions of social harmony or
equilibrium.
149
 Neo-Marxist Political Economy
• To the neo-Marxists, devpt grows out of
conflict, stemming from changes in the
material conditions of life (basic needs).
• Structures are not only facilitating capitalist
investors but are also constraining human
potential of local investors.
• Neo-Marxists stressed the international
character of these structural constraints
• hence the need for the poor countries to
emancipate themselves from their
dependence on the richer countries.
150
 Neo-Liberal Political Economy

• This theory stressed on the importance of

individual actors.
• To them devpt is the aggregate outcome of a
multitude of individual decisions.
• Operating in a market context, people make
their own decisions in a voluntary fashion
• i.e. no state intervention in the market.
• This is essentially a theory of the free market

151
 The New Institutionalism
• This theory concerned with ‘institutions’, the
layer between individual actors and societal
structures.
• The theory argue that social action is
primarily integrative, aimed at going beyond
self - interest.
• It corresponds to the ideological concern with
an ‘enabling environment’.
• The focus is on how to strengthen institutions
(‘institution-building’)
152
 The New Institutionalism
• Also focus on the constraints and
opportunities for using institutions as ‘tools’
of devpt.
Relevance of these theories
• All the above theories contribute to the
debate on devpt
• But fail to provide a more critical
understanding of the devpt processes in
Africa.
• More important they fail to provide alternative
devpt strategies to address devpt problems
in Tanzania. 153
 Local models of devpt
These are the models developed by
Tanzanians E.g. Nyerere devpt model.
According to him devpt is the function of:
• Availability of land (ardhi)

• Availability of human resource (watu)

• Appropriate policy (siasa safi)

• Sound leadership (uongozi bora)

154
 Is sustainable devpt in Africa in the 21st
Possible?
• As recent experiences in Africa indicate it is
not easy to break the chains of dependency
and initiate a process of self-reliant devpt.
• The growing influence of the World Bank, the
IMF and multinational companies indicate a
growing tendency towards increased
dependency
• This is particularly in the economic arena.
• Devpt efforts are presently channeled
towards economic growth

155
 Is sustainable devpt in Africa in the 21st
Possible?
• The relations of production, which are
becoming more and more antagonistic have
been ignored.
• The majority of Tanzania's population is
becoming more and more impoverished with
the country now divided with increasing
social tensions.
• The developed countries have ignored the
cry for a New International Economic Order
(NIEO) from third world countries.

156
 Is sustainable development in Africa in
the 21st Possible?
• The introduction of a free market economy,
• trade Liberalization and privatization of key
industries that is going on in many of the
African countries,
• all point to the need for a new theoretical
perspective to examine the process of
underdevpt/devpt in these countries.
• To understand the process of devpt, devpt
must be dealt with in a historical context.
157
 Is sustainable development in Africa in
the 21st Possible?
• The historical experience will condition the
stage in which a country finds itself and the
degree to which its devpt has unfolded.
• For example the different historical
background of Europe and Africa have
shaped the degree and direction of devpt in
these two regions

158
 Summary of main issues and conclusion
• Neither the Modernization nor the Marxist
theory sufficiently explains underdevpt and
thus come up with tentative suggestions on
eradicating it.
• The Modernization theorists successfully
depict the existing situation of underdevpt in
developing countries.
• But they do not give reasons for the
emergence of underdevpt nor its persistence.

159
 Summary of main issues and conclusion
• The Marxists attempted to explain the
causes of underdevpt but they do not come
up with substantive suggestions of
eliminating it.
• The Dependency theorists also contribute
significantly to the general debate of
underdevpt
• Particularly the external relations between
developing countries and the developed
countries.
160
 Summary of main issues and conclusion
• The Most appropriate theory is one, which in
a realistic and balanced way addresses both
the problems of inadequate,
• also internal economic structures and the
external unfavourable and unfair external
economic relations.
• According to the theoretical perspectives
devpt is a multidimensional process that
involves:
• Major changes in the social structures
popular attitudes, and national institutions,
161
 Summary of main issues and conclusion
• Acceleration of economic growth,
• Reduction of inequality and
• Eradication of absolute poverty
• Devpt must reflect the growth of the whole
population
• The process of devpt must include all
aspects – i.e. economic, political, cultural
and social aspects.
• Sustainability and the core values of devpt
in the society must be observed. 162
 The end

Thank you

163