Notes on the Chapter : Development

What is Development? 

Development refers to a process of improvement in the economic and social well-being of people.
It involves:

• Increase in income and economic opportunities
• Improvement in education and health
• Expansion of freedom, equality, and dignity

Developmental Goals

Developmental goals are the aspirations or objectives that individuals or societies seek to fulfil their needs and improve their standard of living.

1. Different people have different developmental Goals 

Examples

• A landless labourer may want higher wages and regular employment.
• A woman may seek equality, safety, and equal opportunities.

2. Conflicting Developmental Goals

The situations where the development goals are same for different individual or groups.

what may be development for one may not be development for the other. 

It may even be destructive for the other

Example

• Industrialists may want more dams for electricity.
• But dams may displace tribals and farmers from their land. 

3. Income and Other Goals (Mix of Goals)

• Most people desire: Regular employment, Better wages, Fair price for their products
• However, people also want: Equal treatment, Freedom, Security, Respect and dignity
• Development includes both material and non-material goals so people seek mix of goals.

3. National developmental Goals

It refers to the ability of a nation to improve the standard of living of its citizens by ensuring:

• Increase in income
• Better education
• Better health facilities
• Equal opportunities
• Good infrastructure
• Reduction of Poverty
• Equality and Social Justice
• Environmental Protection
• Better Public Facilities

4. Sustainable Developmental Goals

Sustainable development refers to development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

 

Compare Different Countries or States

• Initially, the total income of a country was used to compare whether countries were developed or underdeveloped.
• It is is the total income earned by all the residents of the country.
• However, total income is not useful for comparing countries because countries have different population sizes.
• A country with a large population may have high total income, but individual people may still earn less.
• Therefore, to compare countries, we use average income.

Per Capita Income (Average Income)

Per Capita income is the total income of a country divided by its total population.

$$\text{Per Capita Income}=\frac{\text{Total Income}}{\text{Total Population}}$$

• It is also called Average Income.
• It is used to compare the development of countries. 
• Per Capita Income is calculated in dollars for all countries so that it can be compared. 
• It is also done in a way so that every dollar would buy the same amount of goods and services in any country.

Classification of Countries by Income

The World Bank classifies countries based on their per capita income (average income).

• Low-income countries – Countries with per capita income of US $2400 or less. eg :  Ethiopia, Afghanistan.
• Middle-income countries – Countries with per capita income between low and high levels. eg : India, Brazil
• High-income countries – Countries with per capita income of US $63,400 or more. eg : USA, UK
• India is classified as a lower middle-income country because its per capita income is about US $10,030.

Limitations of Average Income

Average income does not show the distribution of income among people. It hide disparities.

Example:

Two countries may have the same average income, but one may have large inequality (rich and poor). 

Income and Other Criteria

Income alone is not enough to measure development.
Other important indicators must include such as Health, Education and Living conditions.

Infant Mortality Rate (or IMR) : It indicates the number of children that die before the age of one year as a proportion of 1000 live children born in that particular year. 

Literacy Rate : It measures the proportion of literate population in the 7-and-above age group. 

Net Attendance Ratio : It is the total number of children of age group of 15-17 years attending school as a percentage of total number of children in the same age group.

Life Expectancy at birth : It denotes the average expected length of life of a person at the time of birth.

Body Mass Index (BMI) : Body mass index is the criteria which used to find out whether a person is nourished, undernourished or overweighted.

Formula

$$\textbf{BMI} = \frac{\text{Weight (kg)}}{\text{Height (m)}^2}$$

BMI Value	Category
Below 18.5	Underweight
18.5 – 24.9	Normal weight
25 – 29.9	Overweight
30 and above	Obese

Public Facilities

• Public facilities are the goods and services provided collectively by the government for the welfare and well-being of all people.
• Many essential services must be provided collectively for everyone.
• Providing services collectively is often cheaper and more effective than individual arrangements.
• Examples of public facilities include schools, healthcare, safe medicines, and public distribution systems (PDS).
• Access to education depends on availability of schools and facilities provided by the government.
• Kerala has a low Infant Mortality Rate because of better health and educational facilities.
• States where systems like Public Distribution System (PDS) work effectively have better health and nutrition levels. eg : Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh etc

Human Development Report

• It helps to compares countries based on:
• Health (life expectancy), Education level,  Per capita income.
• This report is prepared by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

Human Development Index (HDI)

• A composite index measuring overall development of countries.
• Sri Lanka performs better than India in all indicators and has a higher HDI rank (78) compared to India (134).
• Although Nepal and Bangladesh have lower per capita income than India, they have higher life expectancy.
• The Human Development Index (HDI) focuses on people’s well-being, health, and education.
• Therefore, human welfare and well-being are the most important aspects of development.

Comparison: World Bank vs UNDP Criteria for Measuring Development

World Bank Criterion	UNDP Criterion
Measures development using per capita income (average income).	Measures development using the Human Development Index (HDI).
Focuses mainly on income and economic growth.	Focuses on overall human well-being include income, health (life expectancy), and education.
Classifies countries into low, middle, and high income groups.	Ranks countries based on human development and quality of life.
It gives World Developmental Report	It gives Human Developmental Report