GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Both growth and development refer to changes over a period of
time.
The difference is that growth is quantitative and value neutral. It
may have a positive or a negative sign. This means that the
change may be either positive (showing an increase) or negative
(indicating a decrease).
change may be either positive (showing an increase) or negative
(indicating a decrease).
Development means a qualitative change which is always value
positive. This means that development cannot take place unless
there is an increment or addition to the existing conditions.
Development occurs when positive growth takes place. Yet,
positive growth does not always lead to development.
Development occurs when there is a positive change in
quality.
For many decades, a country’s level of development was
measured only in terms of its economic growth. This meant that
the bigger the economy of the country, the more developed
it was considered, even though this growth did not really mean
much change in the lives of most people.
The idea that the quality of life people enjoy in a country, the
opportunities they have and freedoms they enjoy, are important
aspects of development, is not new.
These ideas were clearly spelt out for the first time in the late
eighties and early nineties.
The works of two South Asian economists, Mahbub-ul-Haq and
Amartya Sen are important in this regard.
The concept of human development
was introduced by Dr
Mahbub-ul-Haq. Dr Haq has described human development as
development that enlarges people’s choices and improves
their lives.
Mahbub-ul-Haq. Dr Haq has described human development as
development that enlarges people’s choices and improves
their lives.
People are central to all development under this concept. These
choices are not fixed but keep on changing. The basic goal of
development is to create conditions where people can live
meaningful lives.
A meaningful life is not just a long one. It must be a life with some
purpose. This means that people must be healthy, be able to
develop their talents, participate in society and be free to
achieve their goals.
Leading a long and healthy life, being able to gain knowledge
and having enough means to be able to live a decent life are the
most important aspects of human development.
Therefore, access to resources, health and education are the key
areas in human development.
THE FOUR PILLARS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Just as any building is supported by pillars, the idea of human
development is supported by the concepts of
equity,
sustainability,
productivity and
empowerment.
Equity refers to making equal access to opportunities available to
everybody. The opportunities available to people must be equal
irrespective of their gender, race, income and in the Indian case,
caste.
Sustainability means continuity in the availability of opportunities.
To have sustainable human development, each generation must
have the same opportunities.
All environmental, financial and
human resources must be used
keeping in mind the future. Misuse of any of these resources will
lead to fewer opportunities for future generations.
keeping in mind the future. Misuse of any of these resources will
lead to fewer opportunities for future generations.
Productivity here means human labour productivity or productivity
in terms of human work. Such productivity must be constantly
enriched by building capabilities in people. Ultimately, it is people
who are the real wealth of nations. Therefore, efforts to increase
their knowledge, or provide better health facilities ultimately leads
to better work efficiency.
Empowerment means to have the power to make choices. Such
power comes from increasing freedom and capability. Good
governance and people-oriented policies are required to
empower people. The empowerment of socially and
economically disadvantaged groups is of special importance.
APPROACHES TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Some of the important approaches are:
(a) The income approach;
(b) The welfare approach;
(c) Minimum needs approach; and
(d) Capabilities approach
MEASURING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
The human development index (HDI) ranks the countries based on
their performance in the key areas of health, education and
access to resources.
These rankings are based on a score between 0 to 1 that a
country earns from its record in the key areas of human
development.
The indicator chosen to assess health is the life expectancy at
birth. A higher life expectancy means that people have a greater
chance of living longer and healthier lives.
The adult literacy rate and the
gross enrolment ratio represent
access to knowledge.
access to knowledge.
The number of adults who are able to read and write and the
number of children enrolled in schools show how easy or difficult it
is to access knowledge in a particular country.
Access to resources is measured in terms of purchasing power (in
U.S. dollars).
Each of these dimensions is given a weightage of 1/3.
The human development index is a sum total of the weights
assigned to all these dimensions.
The closer a score is to one, the greater is the level of human
development. Therefore, a score of 0.983 would be considered
very high while 0.268 would mean a very low level of
human development.