Wednesday, November 4, 2009

[EQ] Developing Countries in the World Economy: The Future in the Past?

Developing Countries in the World Economy: The Future in the Past?

Deepak Nayyar is Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

WIDER Annual Lecture 12, which was delivered in Helsinki - February 2009

UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) - Helsinki, Finland

Available online as PDF file [53p.] at:
http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/annual-lectures/en_GB/AL12/_files/82320269770752010/default/Annual%20Lecture%2012%20Final.pdf

 

“…..The object of this study is to analyse the evolution of developing countries in the world economy situated in its wider historical context, from the onset of the second millennium, but with a focus on the second half of the twentieth century.

 

In doing so, it poses, and endeavours to answer, some unexplored questions:
Does the distinction between developing countries and industrialized countries go back a long time? If not, when did the countries and continents, now described as the developing world, end their long period of domination to begin their decline and fall?
How far does the economic recovery of developing countries in the world economy, since 1950, represent a catch-up in terms of industrialization and development?
What is the extent of the catch-up in comparison with the past? And how is it distributed across countries and among people in the developing world?
Is there something to learn from the past about the future?

 

The structure of the discussion is as follows:
First, I shall examine the changes in the economic importance of Africa, Asia and Latin America (now described as the developing world), as compared with Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America and Japan (now described as the industrialized world), in a long-term historical perspective.
Second, I shall examine the changes in the significance of developing countries in the world economy, in terms of population and income, during the second half of the twentieth century.
Third, I shall consider the engagement of developing countries with the world economy, since 1950, with a focus on international trade, international investment and international migration, drawing some comparisons with the past.
Fourth, I shall outline the contours of their catch-up in industrialization, discernible in the past three decades, to discuss the underlying factors.
Fifth, I shall show that this process is characterized by unequal participation and uneven development, as much of the catch-up in total output, international trade and industrial production is attributable to about a dozen countries.

Sixth, I shall suggest that the growth performance of developing countries is critical, whether we seek to explain the past, understand the present or extrapolate the future.

Seventh, I shall argue that the observed growth has often not been transformed into meaningful development because there is an exclusion of countries and of people, which is reflected in a widening gap not only between developing countries and industrialized countries but also between countries in the developing world. Eighth, I shall explore the future prospects of developing countries, in terms of determinants and constraints, situated in the wider context of the world economy, to highlight what needs to be done to bring about a real transformation. At the end, some conclusions that emerge…..”

 

CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION

2 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

2.1 1000 to 1700

2.2 1820 to 1950

3 SIGNIFICANCE OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SINCE 1950

4 ENGAGEMENT WITH THE WORLD ECONOMY

4.1 International trade

4.2 International investment

4.3 International migration

5 CATCH-UP IN INDUSTRIALIZATION

5.1 Industrial production

5.2 Manufactured exports

6 UNEQUAL PARTICIPATION AND UNEVEN DEVELOPMENT

7 GROWTH PERFORMANCES OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

8 TRANSFORMING GROWTH INTO DEVELOPMENT

8.1 International inequality

8.2 Widening gap between countries

8.3 Exclusion of countries

8.4 Exclusion of people

9 FUTURE PROSPECTS: DETERMINANTS AND CONSTRAINTS

10 CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

 

 

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[EQ] An Introduction to the Human Development and Capability Approach

An Introduction to the Human Development and Capability Approach

Freedom and Agency

Edited by

Séverine Deneulin is Lecturer in international development at the University of Bath and Education Officer at the Human Development and Capability Association.
Lila Shahani is Editor for the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation at the United Nations Development Programme
Earthscan/IDRC 2009 - ISBN 978-1-84407-806-6 - e-ISBN 978-1-55250-470-3

Available online at:

http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-143029-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html?utm_source=IDRC&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=bulletin

“…..The textbook is divided into three parts: Concepts, Topics and Policy.
The first three chapters provide the conceptual foundations of the human development and capability approach. Chapter 1 discusses the importance – indeed, the unavoidability – of value judgements in development and public policy in general. It illustrates that different normative frameworks lead to different actions and consequences in people’s lives. Chapter 2 introduces the fundamental principles of the approach, and constitutes the conceptual foundation for all subsequent chapters. Chapter 3 situates the approach within the context of other schools of thought and development thinking as a whole.

The second part is divided into separate topics and presents a human development angle into each one. There is no particular reason why the topics are arranged in this way, and they can be read in a non-linear fashion. Chapter 4 discusses the topic of economic growth and describes different views about the role of economic growth in promoting human flourishing.

Chapter 5 reviews theories of justice and examines where the approach stands in relation to them. Chapter 6 deals with the topic of measurement, which is central to policy-making since it enables policy-makers to identify target groups in need of intervention. Chapter 7 analyses the role of institutions and markets in expanding people’s opportunities to live the lives they value. Chapter 8 discusses democracy and political participation as mechanisms through which people become agents of their own destiny.

Chapters 9 and 10 discuss two topics to which human development has often been reduced: education and health. Chapter 11 analyses how the topics of culture and religion have been addressed in development studies and critically discusses the contribution of the human development and capability approach. Other topics could have been added, such as a specific chapter on gender, or one on the environment, or another on conflict. However, we have limited ourselves to the topics above for practical reasons of time and length. It will be up to the teachers using this textbook to supplement the chapters with other topics relevant to human development.

The third part deals with policy considerations. Chapter 12 describes the many areas of policy that the human development and capability approach touches upon, and offers useful tools for policy analysis. Chapter 13 collects different policy case studies that can be used as a teaching method to prepare students in human development policy-making and practice.

CONTENT
Introduction

Part I. Concepts

1.
A Normative Framework for Development


2. The Human Development and Capability Approach

3. Ideas Related to Human Development

Part II. Topics

4. Economic Growth


5. Equality and Justice

6. Poverty and Inequality Measurement

7. Institutions, Markets and Economic Development

8. Democracy and Political Participation

9. Education

10. Health

11. Culture and Religion

Part III. Policy

12. Human Development Policy Analysis


13. Policy Case Studies

Appendix 1. Teaching the human development and capability approach: Some pedagogical implications

Appendix 2. Didactic pictures



 

*      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO Website

Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho


    IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this transmission to the intended recipient, you may not disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission in error, please notify us immediately by email to infosec@paho.org, and please dispose of and delete this transmission. Thank you.