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The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines development as the act or process of growing or causing something to grow larger or more advanced. We live in a world that is continuously developing, in ways that we cannot even begin to try to describe. Nonetheless, The World Bank measures indicators of development. To do this, they look at three-hundred and thirty-one different indicators which cover a vast number of areas, including agriculture, aid effectiveness, climate change, economic policy, education, energy and mining, environment, the financial sector, poverty, science and technology, social development, and urban development. The World Bank’s World Development Indicators data is has been used for over fifty years as the standard by which development is measured. While this list may seem like a comprehensive, all-inclusive list, it does not consider the idea of sustainable development. While development for the sake of advancement may seem like a good option for an undeveloped country, it can be argued that development that is not sustainable is not development at all, but merely the illusion of one.
According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development, sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. If we follow this definition, it becomes easy to see that the vast majority of the “developed” world has not, and is not developing sustainably. The idea of sustainable development requires us to consider how our action of developing will affect other countries, and future generations. Many people believe in “the butterfly effect”, where the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in one part of t...
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...economic, political, agricultural or any other area of a country and determine how developed it is. However, this way of looking at development gives us a skewed, unfinished view. In order for us to truly be able to measure development, we need to first ensure that we are measuring only sustainable development that does not hurt the potential development of generations to come.
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"Indicators of Development." The World Bank. N.p.. Web. 16 Jan 2014.
"Indicators of Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodologies." . United Nations, n.d.
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"What is Sustainable Development?." International Institute for Sustainable Development. N.p.. Web. 19 Jan 2014.
"We Can End Poverty ." United Nations. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan 2014.
There also seems to be disputes among the faction of society that believe that even if better living standards and conditions for its citizens are achievable, the question is what is the right method to take in order to achieve it. Development economics is a very interesting topic, as it tends to raise different important issues in the society. According to Peet and Hartwick, ‘it has the power to move people’ . As a result of this, many conflicts revolve around development and its usage because it varies from political agendas to social reforms as well as reasons that do not necessarily adopt the main goal of the term development. Development as a definition is supposed to mean a more level playing ground for all in terms of better economic conditions, yet some use development as a means to gain riches and
Development, in terms of categorizing countries, is the level at which a nation achieves stability, whether that includes stability in the government, climate and nature, the health care system or economy, as well as the total value of resources and goods (Gross Domestic Product) they have. The level at which people are literate in a country is also substantial because i...
Out of the five contexts of development in chapter one, the one that is more important in my own life than the others has been development in multicultural. The text book states that culture is “the system of shared beliefs, conventions, norms, behaviors, expectations and symbolic representations that persist over time and prescribe social rules of conduct.” Being born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with a multicultural of being in the Caribbean and also being a U.S. citizens has been different for me, compared to other cultures. For example, this summer I was looking for an apartment, so I stop by the leasing office to apply for the apartment. After viewing the apartment and speaking with the lease agent she give an application to complete at
Sustainability is a concept with a diverse array of meanings and definitions – a widely used glamorous, ambiguous, ambivalent and vague concept that is used by different stakeholder groups in various ways. Presumably to avoid noodling over a terminology or to avoid the confrontation with a definition, most widely the concept is broken down a planning process (c.f. e.g. Döring & Muraca, 2010). That is why most common sustainability is understood as sustainable development.1
Why the Range of Indicators Used to Measure Development Has Increased in Recent Years Essentially the ideology of development was based on a countries GNP this was down to Rostow’s Model; therefore the only indicator of development was a countries economy. The ideologies have changed and now there are a range of indicators that are used to classify a countries development such as social, demographic, hence including quality of life this gives the ideology of development a more multi dimensional view thus a better understand of what a developed country is. There are three categories that are used to measure development they are economic, social and demographic. Some economic factors used to measure development are GNP, Infrastructure and energy consumption. GNP has always traditionally defined a countries development, with GNP giving an average wealth of the total population it is clear why it was considered the only factor in measuring development but there is huge flaws in measuring development sole on the economy of a ...
“Sustainable Development: At its heart, sustainable development is the simple idea of ensuring a good quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. It is about living within the carrying capacity of the environment so that how we live, work and enjoy leisure activities, which do not harm or put undue pressures on the environment. It is about ensuring everyone has the opportunity to have a decent education, a quality environment that they take pride in, good health and a decent job (n.p, 2014)”
Development originated in the colonial era, when Europeans constructed domestic and imperial government systems and concentrated within the emerging national states as industrial system fueled by the products of colonial labor regimes (McMichael, p. 2). In the 19th century, development was understood philosophically as the improvement of humankind. European political elites interpreted development practically, as a way to socially engineer emerging national societies (McMichael, p. 3). In the post WWII, United State was concerned how to shape the future of the newly independent states in ways that would ensure that they would not be drawn into the communist Soviet bloc. Motivated by this concern, the United States enlisted its social scientists
Countries like United States, Japan are considered as developed or industrialized because of the form of government (democracy), free market economy, lack of corruption, prevalent technology they possess. And the country likes India, Thailand, Brazil with low standard of living are considered developing countries because of the lack of modern technology, undeveloped industry, and low-level education. A country is considered to be developed or developing mainly on the basis of economics, per capita income, industrialization, literacy rate, living standards etc. A developed country has highly developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure comparison to other developing countries. Developing countries are still struggling for their basic needs such as education, health and employment. While on the other hand, the developed countries are far better in education, health and employment. There is massive gap between economies of developed countries and developing countries. Many developing countries faces difficulties to stimulate and sustain economic growth due to high unemployment lack of education, poor infrastructure and unsuitable rules and regulations.
Sustainability simply defined to me as balancing act between the development of sustainability is necessary for both planet Earth and humans to survive. This is reinforced in the World Commission on Environment and Development report (1987) that sustainable development must meet the needs of the present without compromising the well-being of future generations”. The Earth Charter Organization widened the idea of sustainability to respect for a culture of peace, universal human rights, nature, and economic justice (What is sustainability?, n.d.).
Economic development is a term that economists, politicians, and others have used frequently since the 20th Century. The concept, however, has been in existence in the West for centuries. The term refers to economic growth accompanied by changes in output distribution and economic structure. It is concerned with quality improvements, the introduction of new goods and services, risk mitigation and the dynamics of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Income, growth and prosperity were accepted as key indicators of progress and development till the first half of the twentieth century. This was a preoccupation of classical economists. But in present century there is a great conflict, which relates development with equality, growth without equitable distribution and prosperity alongside rising gender inequalities. None of which are natural but rather influenced by social and cultural factors. There is need to broaden the concept of development to encompass the overall well-being of people rather than just denoting rising income. The national income as calculated by the Gross National Product (GNP) measure is no indication of the standard of living of nation’s people. The condition of poverty, illiteracy, diseases and mortality in backward agrarian countries generate the concept of Development Studies. The demand to replace the previously supreme income measure by some alternative, based on a concept of overall welfare was juxtaposed to basic principles of economic theorization in the later half of twentieth century. All these circumstances created the discipline of Development Studies, which is inspired by more humanitarian consideration.
Growth and Development are not much varied from each other. But development is dynamic, which is always changing and looking for betterment of the society. By improving social, political and cultural
It is natural to be misled by the idea that economic growth is the key
In international parlance, development encompasses the need and the means by which to provide better life for people in poor countries and it includes not only economic growth, although that is crucial, but also human development like...