International Development Lecture 1-8 (complete) 9&10 (incomplete)

Lecture 1: What is Development?




 What is the purpose of this course [3]
1. Explain why some places are more developed than others;
2. Diagnose why development initiatives frequently fail;
3. Propose solutions that have proven evidence of success in boosting
development.
 To figure out the answers to these questions we must look at politics
 Define Politics
1. How public decisions are made
2. Who gets what, when, and how

What is Development?

 Is there an agreed definition of development
 Who are we developing - terminology [7]
o The Third World
o Underdeveloped
o Less-developed
o Developing
o Low and Middle Income
o The Global South?
 What are we developing [4] - we want a bit of everything
o Economic development - eg. GDP per capita
o Political development - eg. Democracy
o Social development - eg. Improving healthcare, education
o Subjective development - eg. Personal well-being, Happiness

,What is Modernisation Theory

 It is a conceptualization of development
 Modernization theorists believe that societies progress through a series of stages from
traditional to modern. These stages often involve changes in economic structure,
technology, social institutions, and values.
 However, there is criticism that this theory makes it seem that development follows
one linear path for all. Development can happen in different ways for different
countries etc.

Subjective Development: Voices of the Poor (Narayan et al 2000)

 They went to developing countries to see what they think development is
 Different countries had different responses
 Does this show that Modernisation theory is wrong - yes

Development as Freedom (Sen 1992) - This is the contemporary goal of development

 The Freedom to do what [5]
1. Participate in politics
2. Engage in economic transactions
3. Social opportunities through education and healthcare
4. Transparency during interactions
5. Security of life
 What limits Freedom [5]

o Poverty
o Violence/Repression
o Poor public services
o State restrictions on activities
o Lack of opportunities
 Why does Freedom Matter [2]

1. Intrinsic reason: Freedom matters in itself
2. Instrumental reason: Freedoms promote other freedoms

, o Eg. Democracy prevents famine but also matters for political freedom in itself
o Eg. Markets promote wealth but also represent economic freedom itself
o Development is about complementarities, not trade-offs
 What is the relationship between freedom and capabilities
o Freedom = Capabilities
 Eg. the capability to live a long life
 Eg. the capability to become a teacher
o Capabilities depend on resources and commodities and needs
 How are resources turned into capabilities
 What is not Freedom [3]
o Freedom vs Income
 Income is not enough as not all ends can be bought
o Freedom vs Utility/Happiness
 People who are easily pleased do not deserve less
o Freedom vs Libertarianism
 Freedom 'from' does not guarantee freedom 'to'
 How do we choose which capabilities/freedoms matter
o To Sen, this is what democracy is for
o How can developed countries help developing authoritarian countries them -
do they value health, education and etc.
o There are competing views of freedom and development - it is not just a
philosophical or pure terminological question
 Why is the question above not just a normative question

Politics is the conflict between people with interests in different dimensions of
development

Sustainable Development

 Define Sustainable Development
o "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Bruntland Commission
1987)
 In what ways can we achieve sustainable development [2]

, o Sustainability means renewable resources - like fishing - are consumed slower
than replacement rate
o Sustainability means non-renewable resources - like oil - are consumed slow
enough so we can discover alternatives (Daly 1990)
 Define Strong Sustainability
o Strong Sustainability: Natural capital does not fall
 Define Weak Sustainability
o Weak Sustainability: The sum of natural and physical capital does not fall
 Are continued economic growth and environmental sustainability compatible - 2
arguments
o We can use development to help solve environment problems [Kuznet’s
curve]
o Sustainability leads to development
o What should we do sustainability first or development first - this is an unclear
answer blurred - The Sardar Sarovar Dam in India - does the dam represent
sustainable development - there are advantages and disadvantages.
 Natural gas terminal - Norway and Mozambique
o Mozambique is a country very vulnerable to climate change - yet they also
want to build a natural gas terminal
o Norway not so vulnerable to Climate Change also - Norway is trying to stop
building natural gas terminals in places like Mozambique - What Conflicts in
Freedoms lie behind the debate on financing new natural gas projects in
developing countries

Post-Development Critiques

1. The language of development makes people think of themselves as underdeveloped. -
they start asking people for help - modernisation theory is not per se wrong - we don’t
all use the same means to reach the same ends - but we also should not
2. Development is an imposition of power and hierarchy - colonial powers - [3]
3. Development has failed on its own terms 1975 to 2015 change
4. Development is an industry - plenty of companies and organisations rely on poverty
for status and their careers - Companies got rich because they assume poverty will be
here for a while