Economic Development 13/E Michael Todaro
Chapter 1: Introducing Economic
Development: A Global Perspective
Key Concepts
As curious as students who register to take Development Economics may be, their knowledge and
experience of the developing world will vary widely. The first main point of Chapter 1 is to
emphasise how different life in the developing world is. New in the 13th edition is a systematic
description of four stylised strata of living standards from extreme poverty to rich based on Rosling,
Rosling, and Rosling Ronnlund’s book Factfulness. This is followed by a discussion of the World
Bank’s classification of economies by ranges of average national income using gross national
income (GNI) statistics.
The second point is to provide an overview of the nature of development economics as a field. A
defense of development economics as a distinct field, rather than an agglomeration of other
economics subfields, is offered. A major theme of the book, that development economics must
encompass the study of institutional and social, as well as economic, mechanisms for modernising
an economy while eliminating absolute poverty, is introduced.
Sections 1.5 and 1.6 looks deeper into the meaning of development and a view of development that is
multidimensional. Amartya Sen’s “Capabilities” approach is discussed in Section 1.5. In Section 1.6,
data collected in a Gallup World Poll on the relationship between happiness (as measured by Gallup’s
life satisfaction “ladder” question and real per capita income) and other research on happiness/life
satisfaction is discussed. The level of happiness is not only related to level of income but to other
factors such as democratic freedoms and the quality of social relationships. The role of normative
values in development economics—a subject dealing with human misery and human potential, with
equity as well as efficiency, with cultural change that causes losses as well as gains, and with transfer
as well as creation of wealth—is also stressed.
The conclusion is that development is both a physical reality and a state of mind. The meaning and
objectives of development include the provision of basic needs, reducing inequality, raising living
standards through appropriate economic growth, improving self-esteem in relation to the developed
countries, and expanding freedom of choice in the market and beyond.
Section 1.7 presents an in depth examination of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This includes a more comprehensive list of the goals themselves (appearing in Table 1.1) and a
discussion of the shortcomings of the SDGs. In Section 1.8, the plan of the book is introduced
through 32 critical questions of development economics. Depending on the amount of material
covered by the instructor, students should be able to intelligently address most of these questions by
the end of the course. Finally, a comparative case study of Pakistan and Bangladesh is presented.
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, Lecture Suggestions
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It #nbmight #nbbe #nbbest #nbto #nbbegin #nbwith #nba #nbdiscussion #nbof #nbthe #nbimmense #nbscale #nbof
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#nbstandards #nbfound #nbthroughout #nbthe #nbworld. #nbFor #nbexample, #nbThe #nbMaterial #nbWorld #nbby #nbPeter
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# n b the # n b hard # n b numbers # n b that
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#nbthe #nbfar #nbless #nbthan #nbperfect #nbrelationship #nbbetween #nbincome #nband #nbhappiness #nbare #nbwell #nbworth
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#nbdiscussing #nbthe #nb32 #nbcritical #nbquestions # n b listed #nbon
pages # n b 21–23 # n b of # n b the # n b text # n b and # n b then # n b asking # n b students # n b to # n b identify # n b 3
# n b or # n b 4 # n b questions # n b that # n b they # n b are # n b particularly #nbinterested #nbin #nbexploring. #nbAsking
#nbeach #nbstudent #nbto #nblist #nbwhat #nbthey #nbconsider #nbto #nbbe #nb“critically” #nbcritical #nbquestions #nbon #nba
#nbsheet #nbof #nbpaper, #nbcollecting #nbtheir #nbresponses, #nband #nbthen #nbtrying #nbto #nbdirect #nbthe #nbrest #nbof
#nbthe #nbterm #nbto #nbaddressing #nbthe #nbmost #nbcommonly #nbmentioned #nbcritical #nbquestions #nbfor #nbthat
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#nbpossible, #nbdetermine #nbhow #nbshaky #nbtheir #nbunderstanding #nbof #nbthe #nbwider #nbworld #nbis. #nbThe
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#nbfurther #nbgauge #nbstudents’ #nblevel #nbof #nbsophistication #nbin #nbthis #nbarea. #nbThis #nbis #nbnot #nbsomething
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#nbdevelop #nbover #nbthe #nbcourse #nbof #nbthe #nbterm.
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,In #nbmany #nbuniversities, #nbthe #nbeconomic #nbdevelopment #nbcourse #nbwill #nbbe #nbfilled #nbwith #nbstudents
#nbwho #nbare #nbnot #nbmajoring #nbin #nbeconomics. #nbThese #nbstudents #nbmay #nbcome #nbfrom #nbdifferent
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#nbof #nbintroductory #nbeconomics. #nbGiven #nbthat #nbyou #nbare #nbteaching #nban #nbeconomics #nbclass, #nbyou
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#nbcould #nbbe #nbmade #nbavailable # n b to # n b students # n b through # n b course # n b management # n b software
# n b such # n b as # n b Blackboard # n b or # n b Moodle. # n b You
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, certainly #nbshould #nbuse #nbthe #nbfirst #nbclass #nbor #nbtwo #nbto #nbset #nbthe #nbstage #nbfor #nbthe #nbapproach #nbyou
#nbwill #nbtake, #nbwhether #nbit #nbwill #nbbe #nbmore #nbinterdisciplinary, #nbmore #nbeconomic, #nbmore
#nbmathematical #nband #nbquantitative, #nbmore # n b historical, #nbor #nbsome #nbcombination.
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#nbbecause #nbit #nbdoes #nbnot #nbfocus #nbjust #nbon #nbone #nbcountry, #nbbut #nbon #nball #nbless-developed
#nbcountries. #nbFurther #nbemphasise #nbthat #nbyou #nbwill #nbtry #nbto #nbteach #nbkey #nbconcepts #nband #nbideas
#nbwhich #nbcan #nbbe #nbapplied #nbto #nbthe #nbexperiences #nbof #nbmany #nbdeveloping #nbcountries. #nbThese
#nbconcepts # n b and #nbideas #nbare #nbimportant # n b for #nbunderstanding #nbwhere # n b the #nbdeveloping
#nbcountries #nbare #nbtoday, #nbas #nbwell #nbas #nbwhat #nbtheir #nboptions #nbare #nbfor #nbthe #nbfuture. #nbYou #nbmight
#nbalso #nbwish #nbto #nbemphasise # n b that # n b there # n b arguably # n b is # n b no # n b other # n b area # n b of # n b economics
# n b that # n b is # n b more # n b relevant # n b to # n b the # n b majority #nbof #nbthe #nbworld’s #nbpeople.
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#nbinterest #nbin #nbthe #nbsubject #nbas #nbwell #nbas #nbpresent #nban #nboverview #nbof #nbwhat #nbthe #nbclass #nbis #nball
#nbabout. #nbIt #nbcan #nbbe #nbemphasised #nbthat #nbthere #nbis #nbno #nbone #nbanswer #nbto #nbthe #nbgeneral #nbquestion
#nbof #nbwhy #nbsome #nbcountries #nbare #nbmore #nbdeveloped #nbthan #nbothers. #nbThere #nbare #nbas #nbmany
#nbdifferent #nbopinions #nbon #nbwhat #nba #nbless-developed #nbcountry #nbshould #nbdo #nbto #nbbecome #nbmore
#nbdeveloped. #nbA #nbgood #nbapproach #nbis #nbto #nbpresent #nbdiffering #nbviewpoints #nbthroughout #nbthe
#nbcourse #nband #nblet #nbthe #nbstudents #nbmake #nbup #nbtheir #nbminds #nbon #nbtheir #nbown.
Discussion Topics #nb
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#nbthem #nbfeel #nbinvolved #nbin #nbthe #nblearning #nbprocess. #nbThe #nbfirst #nbfew #nbweeks #nbof #nbclass #nbin
#nbparticular #nbare #nbconducive #nbto #nbthis #nbsort #nbof #nbexercise. #nbTwo #nbideas #nbfor #nbdiscussions #nbat #nbthis
#nbstage #nbare:
What #nbis #nbthe #nbmeaning #nbof #nbeconomic #nbdevelopment? #nbWhy #nbdo #nbwe #nbnot #nbsee #nba #nbstronger
#nbrelationship #nbbetween #nbincome #nband #nbhappiness, #nbespecially #nbonce #nbincome #nbhas #nbrisen #nbabove
#nb$20,000 #nba #nbyear #nbper #nbperson?
Is #nbit #nbpossible #nbfor #nbthe #nbwhole #nbworld #nbto #nbbe #nbdeveloped? #nbThis #nbcan #nbbe #nban #nbinteresting
#nbquestion #nbto #nbask #nbat #nbthe #nbbeginning #nbof #nbthe #nbcourse, #nbonce #nbenvironment #nband #nbdevelopment
#nbhave #nbbeen #nbcovered #nb(Chapter #nb10), #nband #nbthen #nbagain #nbat #nbthe #nbend #nbof #nbthe #nbcourse.
Sample Questions
#nb
Short #nbAnswer
1. Provide #nba #nbdefinition #nbof #nbdevelopment #nbeconomics. #nbJustify #nbyour #nbchoice #nbcarefully.
Answer: # n b See #nbSection #nb4 #nb(pages #nb8–10) #nbfor #nbsome #nbideas #nbabout #nbhow #nbthe #nbstudents
#nbmight #nbanswer #nbthis #nbquestion. #nbThey #nbshould #nbin #nbsome #nbway #nbsay #nbthat
#nbdevelopment #nbeconomics #nbis #nbmore #nbthan #nbjust #nbgrowth #nbin #nbGDP.
2. In #nbdefining #nbdevelopment #nbto #nbinclude #nbmore #nbthan #nbjust #nbthe #nbgrowth #nbof #nbper #nbcapita
#nbincome, #nbthere #nbis #nban #nbimplicit #nbassumption #nbthat #nbthe #nbgrowth #nbof #nbper #nbcapita #nbincome
#nbalone #nbis #nbnot #nbsufficient #nbto #nbguarantee # n b the #nbreduction #nbof #nbpoverty #nband #nbthe
#nbgrowth #nbof #nbself-esteem. #nbIs #nbit #nbpossible #nbthat #nbthere #nbcould #nbbe #nbgrowth #nbof #nbper #nbcapita
#nbincome #nbwithout #nbthe #nbachievement #nbof #nbthese #nbother #nbobjectives?
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