Module 1: Measuring & Investigating Development

TOPIC GENERAL SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

OBJECTIVES
Learners should be Learners should be able to:
able to:
Development Explain the concept and - Explain the concept of development;
practice of development
- Explain the following divisions:
within the context of their
social, economic and First, Second and Third world,
political environment. Newly Industrialized Countries,
North, South, Least Developed
Countries and Developed Countries;
- Give reasons for the differences in
the development levels in
different countries;
- Identify and discuss different
development indicators including
Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
Gross National Product (GNP),
health, life expectancy, education
and energy consumption.

- Show why political aspects of

development are difficult to
measure;
- Describe the characteristics of the
developed and developing countries;

- Analyze and evaluate theories of

development: modernization,
dependency, sustainable
development and alternative
strategies;

Development is a process of improving the standard of living of people in a society or

country.
Development is a process of change and growth in societies which improves people’s quality of life.

Overdevelopment is a situation in which the available resources exceed the population of the country resulting
in people having high standards of living
Characteristics of overdevelopment are;
 High levels of industrialization
 High employment levels
 There are good and adequate social facilities e.g. hospitals, clinics, schools etc
 There is availability of wide range of variety of goods and services
 There is high literacy rate
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  There is high food consumption.

Underdevelopment is the condition of persistent low standards of living and poverty that makes it
impossible
For people to improve their standards of living
Characteristics of underdevelopment are;
 low levels of industrialization
 low employment levels
 There is shortage of social facilities e.g. hospitals, clinics, schools etc
 There is shortage of goods and services
 There is low literacy rate
 There is low food consumption.
 There is high use of simple and intermediate technology

The aspects/context of development

Societies develop when various systems interact to cause change. These systems are called
aspects of development

Economic aspect of development/economic development is when a country produces more

or enough for everyone and gets richer or wealthier resulting in people having high standards
of living.

Characteristics of economic development are;

more industries and factories
high employment levels
high energy consumption
better and improved technology
 high GDP.GNP,GNP per capita

Ways in which developing countries can achieve economic development are.;

 Building more industries
 Improving telecommunications network systems
 Improving roads
 Developing people’s skills/training people
 Providing financial assistance to people
 appropriate technology

Social aspect of development/social development is when people’s basic needs are fully
met
resulting in people having high standards of living.
Characteristics of social development are;
 better and more shelter
 Good and accessible health care e.g. more clinics and hospitals
 There are more schools and easy access to education
 There is access to clean pipped water
 There is good sanitation and hygiene

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 Ways in which developing countries can achieve social development are.;
 Providing sewage systems in the country
 Providing subsidized education
 Providing food for the destitudes, elderly and orphans
 Building clinics and hospitals to provide health care
 Building schools to improve literacy
 Providing people with safe piped water
 Training more doctors
 Training more teachers

Political aspect of development/political development is when people have more

freedom and justice in a country resulting in people having high standards of living. This
means that all the basic human rights are guaranteed by law.

Characteristics of political development are;

 People have more freedom of expressions, religion, association, and movement.
 There are high levels of fair justice.
 Elections are conducted in a free, fair and democratic manner.
 There are high levels of order, peace, and stability.
 There are more institutions of law that protect people

Ways in which developing countries can achieve political development are.;

 Conducting free, fair and democratic elections
 Practicing free justice in a country
 Providing people with institutions of law that protect people’s rights e.g. magistrate courts, courts
of appeal etc
 Allowing freedom of expressions, religion, association and movement

Political aspects of development are difficult to measure because;

 Political aspects are intangible or immeasurable, for example, they can neither be
seen nor touched.
 Most countries prohibit independent human rights groups to monitor human rights
violations.
 In developing countries most people are illiterate and unaware of their rights.
 Political aspects of development are affected by cultural or religious beliefs, for
example, women being marginalized or there are gender inequalities.
 The issue of sovereignty makes it difficult to measure political aspect of
development because countries belief that they are independent therefore nobody can
tell them how to treat their citizens.
 Political aspects of development are affected by different political systems, for
example, dictatorship prohibits human rights because they are no voting, no freedom
of speech.

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INFRUSTUCTURE
Infrastructure is the basic physical, organizational systems and facilities needed
for the operation of a society.

Different types of infrastructure and their importance in the country

1.Transport e.g. railways, roads etc
 Facilitate easy movement of raw materials to the industry.
 Facilitate easy movement of goods from the factory/ supplier to the
customer
 Facilitate easy movement of workers to the industry.

2. Power plants; they are a source of energy

 Needed for run machines
 Needed for lubricating machines
 Needed for domestic purposes e.g. heating, lighting and cooking

3. Water plants
 Water is needed to quench thirst.
 Water is used for industrial purpose e.g. cleaning and processing raw
materials
 Water is used for domestic purposes e.g. cooking and bathing

4. Health facilities e.g. clinic and hospitals

 Needed to ensure a strong, healing and productive workforce

5. Education facilities
 Needed to impact knowledge and skills on to people

6. Financial Institutions
 Needed to offer savings services, loans to people

7. communication systems
 Needed to link people world wide

Division of the world

The world can be divided into three groups based on the levels of development,
namely;
1Developed/ Industrialized countries/ Countries of the North
2.Newly Industrialized Countries (NIC‟s)
3.Less Developing Countries/ Countries of the South/ Third World Countries

The north-south division

The terms North and south here refer to the economic levels more than the geographical
locations. The North here refers to the Developed countries e.g. USA, UK, France, Germany
etc, while the South refers to Developing countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, Somalia etc.
Most countries which fall under the North are found in the Northern hemisphere and those
that fall under the South are found in the Southern hemisphere, however there are some
countries in the southern hemisphere which fall under the North e.g. Australia, New Zealand.

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A map which shows the division of the world into countries of the north
and countries of the south

The geographical locations of countries of the south are as follows:

 The countries of the south are found in Central America, for example,
Mexico.
 The countries of the South are found in South America or Latin
America, for example, Brazil and Argentina.
 The countries of the South are mostly located in Africa, for example,
Botswana, Nigeria, Ethopia, Kenya, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Namibia,
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa and
Cameroon.
 The countries of the South are located in Far East, for example,
Malaysia.
 The countries of the South are located in the Middle East, for example,
Israel Syria, Iran, Yemen
 Some countries of the South are located in East Asia e.g. Cambodia,
Vietnam
 Some countries of the South are found in South Asia e.g. Pakistan,
Afghanistan

Developed countries
Developed countries are States/Nations that are economically, socially and politically highly
improved. Examples are UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Russia, USA,
Japan, Australia, Switzerland, Norway etc.

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The characteristics of developed countries

Economic Characteristics Social Characteristics

 Highly industrialized  High life expectancy
 High employment levels  High levels of literacy
 High levels of income  Low infant mortality rate
 Highly developed infrastructure  Low death rates
 High GNP/ GDP/GNP per capital  Good and adequate social
 High energy consumption facilities, for example,
clinics/hospitals and schools
 High calorie intake or food intake
 Low birth rates and low
population growth rate
 High levels of urbanization

The political characteristics of developed countries are

 Low levels of discrimination
 Fair, free and regular elections
 People have freedom of speech and opinion
 Fair justice
 High levels of order, peace and stability

The reasons why developed countries are highly developed

 Developed countries use advanced technology to produce goods and services.
 Developed countries have long history of industrialization
 Developed countries colonized other countries and enriched themselves with the raw
materials from their colonies.
 Developed countries imported raw materials at cheap rates from Less Developed
Countries.
 Developed countries are selling or exporting expensive manufactured goods.
 In developed countries, there are highly skilled and productive work forces.
 Developed countries control and domination of the World Trade.
 Developed countries dominate economies of developing countries through Trans
National Companies which befit developed countries more.(Neo-colonialism)

Developing countries
Developing countries are States/Nations which are economically, socially, and
politically less improved.

Developing are also known as;

 Less Developed Countries
 Third World Countries
 Countries of the South
 Least Developed Countries
 Underdeveloped Countries
 Middle income or low-income Countries

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Example: Most African countries, for example,
Botswana, Malawi, Zambia etc

South American countries such as Peru, Colombia,

Nicaragua, Chile, Bolivia etc.

Asian countries such as Iran, Iraq , Bangladesh etc

The characteristics of developing countries

Economic Characteristics Social Characteristics

 Developing countries depend on  Developing countries have high
raw materials for export, for birth rates
example, minerals.  Developing countries have high
 Developing countries have low levels of illiteracy or low
levels of industrialization. education levels.
 Developing countries have high levels  Developing countries have poor
of unemployment and inadequate social facilities,
 Developing countries have low for example, school and
incomes hospitals.
 Developing countries have poorly  Developing countries have
developed infrastructure. low life expectancy.
 Developing countries have low  Developing countries have low
GNP/GDP/GNP per capita urbanization levels, for example,
 Developing countries highly most people live in the rural areas.
dependent on subsistence  Developing countries have high infant
agriculture. mortality rate
 Developing countries have low
energy consumption

Political characteristics of developing countries are

 High levels of discrimination
 Few stable democracies
 Oppression of women
 Unfair and irregular elections
 People have less freedom of speech and opinion
 unfair justice
 unfair elections
 low levels of order, peace and stability

The reasons why developing countries are underdeveloped

 Developing countries experienced the slave trade which depleted their human
resources and minerals
 Developing countries have huge foreign debts
 Developing countries experience neo-colonialism as a result of Developed countries
dominating their economies through Multi-National Corporations
 Colonialism /imperialism that exploited Africa, for example, took raw materials.
 Developing countries use backward or poor technology.
 Developing countries have a lot of unskilled labour
 Developing countries depend on cheap raw materials for export.

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  International trading terms disadvantage developing countries.

Newly industrialized countries

Newly Industrialized countries are States/Nations that are achieving rapid
economic growth

Newly industrialized countries are states/Nations that have recently experienced

fast economies

They used to be less developed. For example, S o u t h Korea, Taiwan,

Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey,
South Africa etc.

The map below shows the geographical locations of newly industrialized

countries (nics)

The location of the newly industrialized countries is as follows:

 The Newly Industrialized Countries are found in Southern Africa, for example, South
Africa.
 Newly Industrialized Countries are located in the Far East countries such as
Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, South Korea and China.
 The Newly Industrialized Countries are found in South of North America, for
example, Mexico.
 Newly Industrialized Countries are found in Northeast of South America, for
example, Brazil.
 The Newly Industrialized Countries are found in South Asia, for example, India.
 Newly Industrialized Countries are located in the Middle East, for example, Turkey,
Saudi Arabia

The characteristics of Newly Industrialized countries

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 Economic Characteristics Social Characteristics
 NICs have fast growing industrial sector  NICs have rapid urbanization
 NICs have greater dependence on  NICs have improving standard of living.
exports of manufactured goods.  NICs are having increasing levels of
 NICs are rapidly commercializing high literacy.
the agricultural sector, for  NICs have improving provision
example, from subsistence to social services
commercial agriculture.  NICs have rising life expectancy.
 NICs have raising income levels.  NICs have falling birth and
 NICs have emergence of new Trans population growth rate.
National Companies, for example,
Samsung, Daewoo, Kia, all from South
Korea.

The political characteristics Newly Industrialized countries are

 Declining levels of discrimination
 improving freedom of speech and opinion
 improving levels of fairness and justice
 improving levels of order, peace and stability

The reasons why NIC’s developed so fast

 The NICs have heavy investment in science and technology education.
 NICs have large scale foreign direct investment, for example, Multi-National
Companies/ Trans National Companies.
 NICs used Export Oriented Industrialization based on the production of consumer
goods for the world market.
 NICs accepted Foreign Aid from the developed western countries in an attempt to
stop the spread of communism, for example, South East Asia.
 NICs got loans from international financial institution, for example, World Bank
and International Monetary Fund.
 NICs transferred technology from the Western countries
 NICs have cheap labour costs that helped to attract foreign investment.
 NICs had agricultural and land reforms that helped to modernize and improve
productivity.
 NICs have heavy investment in modern infrastructure.

Indicators of development

SOCIAL INDICATORS ECONOMIC POLITICAL INDICATORS

INDICATORS
Infant Mortality Rate Gross National Product per Number of political parties in a
Capita Country
Life expectancy Gross Domestic Product Percentage of people who vote
during elections
Adult literacy rate Gross National Product Freedom of expression
Number of people per Energy Consumption per Percentage of women in
doctor/Doctor Patient ratio Capita managerial positions
Number of pupils per teacher Number of people employed in Number of wrongful
Agriculture imprisonment
Birth rate Employment rate Peace

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 Death rate Manufacturing production Security
Literacy rate Incidents of conflict
Happiness

Social indicators of development

1.Infant mortality rate
Infant mortality rate number of babies in every 1000 live births who die
before r e a c h i n g their first birthday in a country in a year.

Infant mortality rate is the percentage of babies who die before reaching their first birthday
in a country in a year

The reasons why developing countries have a high infant mortality rate
 Developing countries have high infant mortality rate because of poor
care / parent negligence
 There is shortage of health facilities where health care can be provided
by doctors and nurses.
 Developed countries have shortage of doctors and nurses
 There is lack of clean piped water in developing countries
 High infant mortality rate in developing countries is caused by
widespread of diseases and epidemics, for example, cholera, ebola,
malaria and HIV/AIDS.
 There is p o o r nutrition which may lead to kwarshikor
 Developing countries have poor sanitation and hygiene.
 Developing countries have poor immunization programmes
 There is widespread of poverty in developing countries which leads to
low living standard.

The reasons why developed countries have low infant mortality rate are
 Developed countries have adequate health facilities
 There are more doctors and nurses.
 Developed countries have immunization programmes that help to
eradicate child killer diseases, for example, cholera, malaria and polio.
 Developed countries have adequate and balanced nutrition.
 Developed countries have good sanitation and hygiene.

2. Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the average number of years a person is likely to live in a country.
Developed countries have high life expectancy because
 Developed countries have access to clean safe water
 Developed countries have good/improved sanitation and hygiene
 Developed countries have enough doctors and nurses
 Developed countries have good immunization programmes
 Developed countries have adequate and efficient health facilities

Developing countries have low life expectancy because

 Developing countries lack access to clean safe water
 Developing countries have poor sanitation and hygiene

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  Developing countries have shortage doctors and nurses
 Developing countries have poor immunization programmes
 Developing countries have shortage and inefficient health facilities
 Developing countries experience civil wars that kill many people
 People in developing countries do back breaking manual work
 Developing countries have widespread of diseases and epidemics

life expectancy at birth

Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a new born baby is likely to live in a
country

Developed countries have high life expectancy at birth because

 Developed countries have excellent provision of pre and post natal care for women
 Developed countries have good/improved sanitation and hygiene
 Developed countries have enough doctors and nurses
 Developed countries have good immunization programmes for pregnant women
 Developed countries have adequate and efficient health facilities
 There is good nutrition for pregnant women

Developing countries have low life expectancy at birth because

 Developing countries have widespread of diseases and epidemics
 Developing countries have poor provision of pre and post natal care for women
 Developing countries have poor sanitation and hygiene
 Developing countries shortage doctors and nurses
 Developing countries have poor immunization programmes for pregnant women
 Developing countries have shortage of health facilities
 There is poor nutrition for pregnant women
 Failure of pregnant women to enroll in PMTCT programmes
 Lack of health education to pregnant women

3.Calorie intake
Calorie intake is the energy value of the food eaten in a country.
Calorie intake is the amount of energy in the food eaten.

The reasons for low calorie intake in developing countries

 There is high unemployment so less money to buy food
 There is lack of purchasable food in some areas
 Developing countries have quality and quantity food shortage because of
drought
 The high illiteracy rate in developing countries lead to inability to
determine food quality
 Low calorie intake in developing countries is caused by drought and
famines.
 Developing countries have low calorie intake due to wars and political
instability.
 People in developing countries use poor farming methods
 There is lack of rainfall in developing countries
 Developing countries have low calorie intake due to pests and diseases
that attack their crops

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The reasons for high calorie intake in developed countries
 Developed countries have high calorie intake because of high income
because most of the people are employed.
 High calorie intake in developed countries is caused by surplus food
production.
 Developed countries have high calorie intake due to high levels of
education.
 Calorie intake is high in developed countries because of the use of
advanced technology to produce food.
 Developed countries have high calorie intake because they use good
farming methods
 Developed countries use good irrigation systems

4. Literacy rate
The percentage number of people who are able to read and write
 The number of people in every 1000 people that are able to read
and write in a country in a year

Developed countries have high literacy rate because

 Developed countries have adequate schools.
 Developed countries have a lot of teachers.
 Parents in developed countries are educated and know the
importance of sending their children to school.
 Schools in developed countries have adequate educational
resources.
 Parents in developed countries are able to pay school fees

Developing countries have low literacy rate because

 Developing countries have shortage schools.
 Developing countries have shortage of teachers.
 Parents in developing countries are uneducated hence lack
knowledge on the importance of education and will therefore fail
to send their children to school
 Schools in developing countries have shortage educational
resources.
 Some parents send their children to the cattle posts to provide
labour instead of sending them to school
 Cultural beliefs make parents to marry off their girl children at a
young age because they believe that it is a waste of money to send
a girl child to school
 High unemployment levels make some parents unable to send
their children to school because they are unable to pay for school
fees

Adult literacy rate

Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people of people aged 18 years and above who can
read and write in a country.

5. Birth rate

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Birth rate is the number of babies born in every 1000 people in a year in a country.

Developing countries have high birth because.

 A large family seen as a symbol of social prestige, for example, proves ones virility.
 Ignorance of the use of family planning and contraceptives.
 Children are regarded as a source of social security.
 Families had many children in order to use them as a source of labour in agriculture.
 Early marriages.
 Polygamy
 Desires for sons if girls are born first to continue family name because girls get
married and change the surname.

Developed countries have low birth and because of:

 Widespread of use of contraceptives and also family planning is done.
 People in developed countries have social security as they have pension
schemes in place.
 High standards of living that make a large family expensive to have.
 Banning of child labour practices

6. Doctor patient ratio is the average number of sick people to be attended by a medical
practitioner in a day.

Doctor patient ratio is high in developing countries because;

 Developing countries have high population
 There is shortage of Doctors in developing countries
 There is shortage of health facilities in developing countries e.g. clinics and hospitals
 There are high incidents of wars
 There is high outbreak of diseases/high outbreak of communicable diseases.
 Long period of training doctors

Economic Indicators of Development

1. GDP is the total value of goods and services that a country produces in
one year.

2. Gross National Product is the total value of goods and services

that a country produces in one year including earnings from abroad or
outside the country.

3. GNP per capita is the proportion / share of a country`s wealth each

individual is entitled to if the country`s money is shared equally / evenly
amongst the population
GNP per capita is the total money value of goods and services
produced
within and outside the country divided by the total population

The advantages of GNP per capita

 GNP per capita is a standard measure, therefore, allows easy comparison between

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 countries and years.
 The data on GNP per capita is available from the World Bank.
 GNP per capita highlights international wealth differences.
 GNP per capita is better than raw GNP measurement, which ignores the size of the
population, or GDP, which includes investments from abroad.
 GNP per capita helps to estimate productivity capacity of country`s economy.

The disadvantages of GNP per capita

The reasons why GNP per capita is not a good measure of development
 few people might own most of the land, farms, shops, factories, etc.
leaving the majority very poor i.e. it ignores the difference between the
rich and the poor within the country
 GNP per capita ignores the informal sector and illicit trades; economists
only count goods and services marketed openly and recorded by
government
 Production/income statistics may be inaccurate / concealing of actual
earnings to avert tax or Business officials hiding information
 Population statistics may be inaccurate and/or outdated
 There is official biasness of statistics to score a political mileage
 GNP per capita assumes that everyone is working and benefiting from
the economy and ignores the quality of life, social & environmental
consequences of wealth/ignores happiness of the people

4.Energy use/ energy consumption

Energy consumption is the amount of kilograms of oil, gas, electricity or

wood used in a country.

Energy use is the amount of kilograms of oil, gas, electricity or wood

consumed in a country.

Energy use per capita/head is the average amount of kilograms of oil, gas,
electricity or wood that is utilized by an individual in a country in a year.

Developed countries use large quantities of energy while Developing countries use small
quantities.

Developed countries use a lot of energy because

 Developed countries have a lot of industries,
 D e v e l o p e d c o u n t r i e s u s e machines which are power driven
 There are many vehicles i n D e v e l o p e d c o u n t r i e s
 Most people in developed countries use electrical
a p p l i a n c e s and gadgets
 Most people in developed countries use electricity, gas etc for domestic
purposes e.g. cooking

Developing countries use smaller quantities of energy because

 Developing countries have very few industries,
 There are few vehicles in Developing countries
 machines.
 Most work is done manually.

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5. Employment

In developed countries there are a lot of employment opportunities because of:

 Large industrial sector
 Large commercial service sector
 Quaternary sector

In developing countries employment is very low because of

 Small industrial sector
 Small commercial sector
 Dependence on subsistence agriculture.

6. Trade
Developed countries are dependent on exporting manufactured or finished products.
Developing countries are dependent on exports of raw materials.

Political indicators of development

1. Human rights: These are principles of fairness and justice that every person is
entitled to have and they are part of the constitution of every country. Respect
for human rights marks a high level of political development for any country.
Conditions that fulfil human rights include the following:
 Regular free and fair elections
 Freedom of speech or opinion
 Right to education
 Freedom of association and worship
 Impartial/ fair justice
 Law and order
 Peace and security
 Equal opportunities in all spheres of life.

2. Discrimination is a situation where people are denied access to full rights on the basis of
who they are. Discrimination is usually based on the following;
 Color; racial discrimination Apartheid in South Africa
 Religion; Christianity against Islam
 Gender; oppression of women by men
 Disability
 Ethnicism/trabalism
3. Number of women in decision making/managerial positions
4. Percentage of people who vote in elections
5. Incidents of conflict
6. Number of people wrongly imprisoned
7. Number of political parties in a country

Theories of development
1. Modernization theory
A theory is a set of ideas offering explanation about something.
Theories of development are ideas from such disciplines as economics, politics
and sociology that attempt to explain how the world can be developed.

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Modernization theory is a set of ideas that states that for developing
countries to advance, they should copy development pattern that was taken by
the developed countries.
It is also referred to as the “Stages of Growth theory”, and “Rostow’s theory.”
The theory suggests that a country goes through the following
stages of development.

Stage 1: Traditional society stage

 Dependency on subsistence agriculture.
 Technology is still simple
 Production of handicrafts
 society, people practice barter trading.

Stage 2: Preconditions for takeoff

 There is improvement of transport network, for example, roads, canals
and railways.
 Beginning of commercial farming
 There is introduction of fertilizers, hybrids and pesticides.
 Specialization of work begins.
 Improved technology that raises productivity.
 Urbanization starts.

Stage 3: Take-off
 There is rapid urbanization
 Growth of cities
 Growth in manufacturing
 Investment in capital goods rises and quickens economic growth.
 Changes in the social, political institutional organizations
 some people become rich.

Sage 4: Drive to Maturity

 there is rapid increase in manufacturing and service industries
 more exports and fewer imports.
 More people dependent on paid employment and wages generally
improve.
 Agriculture now fully mechanized with very few people engaging it,
more people in industries.
 Demand for consumer goods increases.
 High economic growth

Stage 5: The Age of High Consumption

 there is high production of consumer goods.
 Manufacturing and service industries are the largest economic sectors
 Large services sector that employs the majority of the people.
 High standards of living as wages are good for most people.

Policy implications/ principles of Modernization theory

 There should be investment in industry and infrastructure.
 Apply or borrow ideas from the Capitalist countries of the North.
 There should be emphasis on the importance of formal, vocational and technical
education and training.

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  People should give up their traditional habits and experiment with new ideas.
 There should be change from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture.
 There should be mass production of cheap consumer goods so that wealth can be evenly
distributed between the rich, middle class and the poor.
 People should use appropriate technology which will lead to high production
 There should be specialization in production.
 Urbanization should take place.
 There should be industrialization.
 People should be patient enough to accept less income until the economy of the
country has grown.

The strengths/ advantages of Modernization theory

 Modernization theory shows the importance of capital investment as a fuel for
economic development.
 western ideas such as competiveness and individualistic has lead to people being
profit oriented instead of producing for consumption
 Modernization theory recognizes that change can be unpleasant and that certain
groups will suffer in the process.
 Newly Industrialized Countries are achieving high levels of economic growth rapidly
because of following the ideas of the north by investing heavily in science and
technology
 Changing attitudes amongst people have led to people realizing the importance of
formal schooling which has led to a skilled and productive workforce

The weaknesses/ disadvantages of Modernization theory

 Modernization theory neglects political and social development.
 Modernization theory ignores the fact that developing countries are affected by
circumstances beyond their control that are deterrent to development, for example,
natural disasters.
 Modernization theory neglects the fact that some people value their
cultural practices too much to relinquish them.
 Modernization theory also ignores the fact that developing countries
lack cheap sources of raw materials that developed countries got from
their former colonies.
 Capitalism is not the only way to achieve development, USSR and China
developed under the Socialist mode of production.
 Developing countries are unable to follow the pattern followed by the
developed countries because developed countries control their
economies and determine trade terms.
 Globalization, Multi National Companies, free trade all make it
difficult for developing countries to develop.
 There is an unfair international trading term that favors the developed
countries at the expense of the developing countries, the trade terms are
set or determined by the developed countries.
 In many countries the wealth has never trickled down.
 In some countries industrialization is slow with the economy trapped
by dependence on producing primary products.

2. Dependency theory
Dependency theory is a set of ideas that states that in order to advance,
developing countries should rely less on developed ones.

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It argues that less developed countries became economically reliant on the
North and thus the North became industrialized at the expense of the South
who remained underdeveloped Dependency was developed in the 1960‟s to try
and explain why developing countries were failing to develop. Europe and
North America became rich and developed through exploiting the poor
countries during colonialism.
They exploited resources of developing countries and neglected their economies
by not developing any industries or infrastructure. Exploitation is still
continuing today in the form of Neo-Colonialism, that is the control of the
economies of developing countries through;

 Trans National Corporations or Multi National Companies

 International loans (the debt trap)
 Foreign Aid Control
 International trade

Dependency theorists argue that developing countries would be better off if they
break off economic relations with the developed countries and develop on their
own.

Policy implications/ principles

 The Countries of the South/ developing countries should cut
economic links with Countries of the North/ developed countries.
 Developing countries should reduce spending on consumer goods but
spend more on capital goods, for example, machinery.
 Countries of the South should save and invest locally instead of borrowing.
 Local inventions should be encouraged, for example, development of local
technology.
 Developing countries should become self-sufficient reliant.
 Dependency theory encourages people to be patient and sacrifice for a better future.

The strengths/ advantages of dependency theory

 It focuses on all aspects of development which are social, political,
economic and environmental development.
 Dependency theory acknowledges the inter-linkage of countries globally.
 Dependency theory explains the crippling effect of colonialism.
 Dependency theory emphasis the need for self reliance in capital and technology.

The weaknesses /disadvantages of dependency theory

 It ignores the fact that the South lacks investment capital that would make cutting
links difficult.
 Dependency theory also ignores the fact that the developing countries
would lose the benefits of international trade if it cuts links with the
Countries of the North.
 Producing for the local market may result in the inefficient use of resources.
 It neglects the fact that most people in the South aspire to the lifestyle of
the people of the Countries of the North, and may likely object when
asked to stop importing products from Countries of the North.
 Most developing countries lack the capacity to develop the industrial technology on
their own.

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  Governments will face a lot of opposition if they stop importing
western goods, for example, television and cars.
 Some countries which have links with the Countries of the North
developed successfully without cutting links with the Countries of the
North, for example, Cuba and Tanzania.

Developing countries can use the dependency theory to develop through the
following ways
 Developing countries should by breaking off all links with the West and
become self -reliant.
 Developing countries should avoid borrowing from outside but save
and invest within the country.
 Developing countries should spend less on consumer goods but spend
more on capital goods, for example, machinery.
 Developing countries should use appropriate technology and make its
own industries or encourage local inventions.
 Developing countries should encourage its people to exercise
patience, work hard and shun modern lifestyles.

3. Sustainable development theory

Sustainable Development is the wise use of resources by the present

generation to meet its needs without jeopardizing the ability of future
generations to meet their needs

Sustainable Development theory is a set of ideas that explain that for

countries to improve their standards of living, they should use of
resources wisely so that the future generations could also meet their needs .

Sustainable Development was developed in the 1970‟s as a response to the

damage to the environment by the developed countries, for example, pollution,
depletion of species and resources, soil erosion, desertification and rapidly
rising global population.

There was also concern with the unequal sharing of the world`s resources, for
example, 80% are consumed by the developed countries and 20% by developing
countries. It calls for both equitable sharing and the caring for the environment.

Policy implications/ principles

 The world should be conserving the environment.
 Population growth should be stabilized, for example, contraceptive use and family
planning.
 World agreements on environmental issues should be set up.
 There should be equitable distribution of resources of the world.
 The world should use of appropriate technology to conserve resources and limit
pollution.
 People of the world should recycle and reuse to prevent depletion.

The strengths/ advantages of sustainable development theory

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  Sustainable Development theory encourages one to think about conservation, which is
a good thing.
 Sustainable Development theory highlights the dangers facing the globe, such as
pollution, global warming
 Sustainable Development theory makes people aware that they have the common
problems.
 Sustainable Development theory makes the world realize the need for cooperation in
solving environmental problem.
 Sustainable Development theory alerts the world to the unfair distribution of the
global resources.

The weaknesses/ disadvantages of sustainable development theory

 Sustainable development theory lays emphasis on resources being saved forgetting that
new minerals and fuels may be discovered in future
 The theory dispels the possibility of a development of new technologies which will
help increase food supply, reduce pollution, and substitutes for minerals that pollute
the environment, for example, solar energy for wood and coal.
 Sustainable development theory neglects a possibility of people and government
joining hands to find ways of equitable distribution of resources.
 The theory discourages people from industrializing blaming them for pollution and
depletion of natural resources , but forgets that new technologies can be discovered
which could reduce pollution
 The theory argues that countries need to stabilize their population growth through
family planning but sometimes a large population forces people to be resourceful and
come up with new ideas which may be of benefit to the country

The ways of achieving sustainable development in a country

 Stock piling of minerals / preservation until prices in the world market has improved.
 Introduction of Legislation / seasonal hunting / quotas / hunting licenses / Anti-
poaching laws to prevent extinction of natural resources.
 Stabilizing population growth e.g. planning for small families, birth control,
practicing population control, giving incentives to small families or penalize for large
families
 Conservation measures; tree planting, recycling, re-use, reduce, refuse, clean-up,
limited use of resources, good farming methods, Wildlife Management Areas
 Education on resource use
 Use of synthetic products
 Finding alternative energy sources, for example, the use of solar energy instead of
coal which causes air pollution
Alternative strategies for development

1. Gender development
Gender and development is a strategy that suggests that countries
can improve the standards of living of its people by allowing
women to own big possessions such as businesses, houses.

There has been a realization that women, despite being the majority population,
have been excluded from most areas such as:
Political rights, there are few women in leadership positions.
Legal rights, no laws protecting women against oppression or abuse.
Access to education and training, most girls are uneducated because they are
regarded as being less important.

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Access to property, most societies prohibit women from owning property,
for example, land and livestock.
The unequal treatment at the work place, women are given low paying jobs
even if they have the same qualifications as men, for example, managerial
positions are held by men mostly.

The move to include women in development started in the 1970‟s and 1980‟s as
a result of the pressure from human and women`s rights groups.
There was a realization that sidelining women has serious implications.

The problems of sidelining women

 More than half of the human resources are underutilized.
 Large population families because women are ignorant of birth control because of
being illiterate.
 Poor health for families and consequently an unhealthy nation.
 Less skilled manpower.
 Fewer enterprises since women have less access to credit.

Policies that will allow women to participate in development

 Giving women full access to credit capital.
 Giving women property rights.
 Giving women access to education, for example, universal education (compulsory and
free).
 Affirmative action for women, that is programmes that deliberately accelerates the
promotion of women over men in education, politics, business and the workplace.
 Promoting women`s organizations that fight for their rights, for example,
Emang Basadi and BCW
 Including gender studies in the school curriculum to remove prejudice among the
young population.
 Legislation ,passing laws that gives equal rights to both men and women.

2. Globalization
Globalization is the integration of the world’s economic, social and
political systems into one entity. It involves interaction and
interdependence of all the countries in the world- The Global village.

Globalization is a strategy that emphasis that all people of the world should
become one nation in order to bring democracy as a way of maintaining peace
and stability.

Globalization came about after the collapse of the Communist bloc in the
1980‟s. capitalism became the dominant political and economic system.

Policy implications/ principles/elements of globalization

 Organizations for economic cooperation for both developed and
developing nations must implement - mutually agreeable and sustainable
policies to reinforce macro-economic structures.
 There should be technological development

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  There should be trade liberalization/removal of trade barriers
 There should be global integration of communication network systems
e.g. internet, TV, satellite radio, global media publications
 Infrastructure should be improved in developing countries. Sub
 There should be fostering of good governance and participatory
democracy.
 Policy makers in developing countries should facilitate the
 dissemination and application of technological knowledge.

The strengths/ advantages of globalization

 There will be emergence of more democratic system in the world.
 More economic opportunities will be developed, especially for developing countries.

The weaknesses/ disadvantages/problems of globalization

 Increases inequalities between developed and developing countries
resulting in poverty in developing countries
 Brain drain (when skilled and professional labour force move from
developing countries to go and work in Developed countries)
 Environmental degradation by MNC Increase in poverty and inequalities between the
developed and developing countries.
 Globalization leads to concentration of capital and wealth in the developed countries.
 Globalization leads to emergence of Trans-National Corporations that are difficult to
control and monitor.
 Globalization causes marginalization of the developing countries from the global
village because they lack capital, technology, skills and have weak economies that are
unable to compete.

The development that show the growth of a global village

 The emergence of satellite and high-tech global information systems, for
example, DSTV and internet.
 Globalised patterns of consumerism, for example, consumer rights movements.
 Growing appeal for a universalized wealthy cosmopolitan life style.
 Nation`s participation in world sport such as Miss World and FIFA World Cup.
 Relative decline of the Soviet Block, and other blocks.
 The growth of regional and international agencies and organizations.
 Emergence of Human Rights Protection Organizations, for example, Ditshwanelo.
The globalization challenges for Africa
 Globalization causes the development of international crime syndicates
or terrorism in Africa
 African countries are faced with the challenge of increase of brain drain
as a result of globalization because most of skilled people in African
countries prefer working in developed countries.
 The dominance or control of the economy by the Multi-National
Companies taking profit away to their countries of origin.
 lack of funds to educate and train people to compete for jobs locally or
have high illiteracy rate.
 The plight of HIV and AIDS killing their skilled manpower.
 African countries have weak economies which fail to compete in a
globalised world because of dependence on exporting raw materials
instead of finished goods.

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  African countries are faced with the challenge of loss of sovereignty as a
result of globalization.
 loss of culture.
 It is difficult to accept change.

3. Populism
Populism is a strategy that emphasizes that people should be
agents
of their own developments. They should deal with their problems
on an individual level. They should deal with their problems via
local non-governmental and voluntary organizations.

The theory recognizes four sets of problems as obstructing human development:

 Concentration of power within government bureaucracies and
large private sector firms and organization.
 rigid government rules and regulations(i.e. bureaucracy)that prevent
people from solving their problems immediately
 emphasis on large scale projects that benefits locals less
 Exclusive mechanisms working through the state and the market
marginalize the vast majority of poor people from political and
economic life.

Populism believes in small scale and community-oriented development

projects in industry and agriculture particularly in the LDCs

Arguments for small scale projects are;

 Small scale projects address people’s specific needs and wants
 Small scale projects are easy to finance and manage
 Smal scale projects Can be operated by individuals since simple skills
are required
 Small scale projects are environmentally friendly
 Small scale projects make use of local skills and resources
 Small scale projects create employment

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