Aid, Development and Social Entrepreneurship Essay

Development has no distinct definition. However different scholars have defined it based on value judgments. Development is the realization of human personality. In my case, I will consider three approaches when defining development. First, development is viewed as a long-term process that entails structural societal transformation. Secondly, development is viewed as a short- to -medium term outcome of desirable targets. Finally, it is perceived as a dominant discourse of western modernity (Alkire et al., 2015).

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Development is a measure of progress. It entails change and in this case good or positive change. Different aspects are used when evaluating good change. For instance, technology - this could be based on engineering, communications, and natural or physical sciences. Economic, social, political, legal, institutional structures like government and universities (Alkire et al., 2015). Environment, religion, arts, and culture among others are applied when evaluating the level of development. Generally, indicators used to measure the progress of development are (a) Economic measures. For instance, income levels of a country. (b) Social and psychological view (c) Universal wellbeing. It focuses on the objective and subjective well-being of persons in a certain country. Some challenges are evident when measuring development. This could be as a result of the varying definitions of development. Others are as a result of the methods used to measure growth and the aspects involved when measuring development. They include;

• Unreliable, misinformed or biased and non-existent data.
• Varying Economic definitions
• Non- quantitative natural concepts.

Ways of Measuring Economic Growth

Development equals economic growth. Consequently, economic growth refers to an increase in output of products and services within a given period. It usually is measured annually or quarterly. To measure the economic growth of a country, we look at its (GDP). Gross Domestic Product refers to a monetary measure of the market value of all final goods and services. When comparing the economic performance of two countries, we use the nominal Gross Domestic Product. It includes the changes that have occurred during a current year due to inflation and deflation levels. Economists, entrepreneurs globally have used GDP to measure the changes in development depending on time and place. The various components of GDP are Consumption (C), Investment (I), Government Spending's (G) and Net exports- the value of exports less those of imports (X-M). In addition to GDP, other measures are used to measure economic growth. These include Gross National Income (GNI), Gross National Disposable Income (GNDI), Net National Income (NNI)/ Nat National Disposable Income (NNDI) and Gross National Product (GNP).

Gross National Income is measured as the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents consisting of GDP plus factor incomes earned by foreign residents, less income earned in the domestic economy by non-residents (Todaro & Smith, 2011). GNP refers to the annual total number of goods produced by citizens and corporations inside and outside of a country's territory. Both GNP and GDP are related to measuring the economic growth of a country. They are equally important because; They measure the well-being, reveal the capacity of an economy and the ability to meet peoples need. Also, they show the savings and expenditure of a country. They are measurable and convenient pacesetters for policymakers (Alkire et al., 2015).

Two countries can have the same GNI per capital but end up with human development outcomes. This is because the level of happiness for every country is different (Evans, 2004). A state may have low income, but the citizens are happier. Moreover, it instills on the need for addressing peoples capabilities as a way of measuring growth and not the economic growth alone. Human development index could also be used to evaluate national policy choices. It shows the policies that their government puts first (Evans, 2004).

Developed countries tend to be superior to developing countries. This is because much emphasis is put on factors affecting capital but fails to be inclusive of other aspects like culture (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2013). For instance, in developing countries, governance structures and institutions have put more effort into capital stock. Contrary, developed countries that have changed from capital accumulation to organizational change (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2013).

Countries could be classified as either developed or developing countries. Developing countries are characterized by same features which brought the name Third World countries. It was characterized by countries that gained independence in the 1950s and 1960s and that were not aligned to either USA or USSR in the cold war. These countries also allied called the G77 formed in the 1960s (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2013). It comprised of 77 members. During this time, the industrialized countries or the First World and the Second World were in cold war. As a result, they came up with New Third World countries.

Inequality between developing and developed countries emerged later; this was mainly because of the rankings that were extended by global organizations based on development levels. The countries were grouped into; countries with low income per capita, low human development and the least developed (Evans, 2004). These groups had a different aspect like the national income, level of education and access to health facilities and factors like physical development like the ability to deal with natural calamities, food security, mortality rates, etc.

References

Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2013). Why nations fail: The origins of power, prosperity, and poverty. Broadway Business.

Alkire, S., Roche, J. M., Ballon, P., Foster, J., Santos, M. E., & Seth, S. (2015). Multidimensional poverty measurement and analysis. Oxford University Press, USA.

Evans, P. (2004). Development as institutional change: the pitfalls of monocropping and the potentials of deliberation. Studies in comparative international development, 38(4), 30-52.