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GROWTH ON ITS OWN IS NOT AN ASSURANCE OF PEOPLE-CENTRED DEVELOPMENT

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Economic Growth: Let’s start with what economic growth is.... Economic growth can be seen as increase in economic output of goods and services within a period of time (say one year), usually measured as the market value of these good and services. It is, in other words, an increase in aggregate productivity in an economy (country). Economic growth, crucial as it is for generating the resources necessary for better living in any country, is not an assurance, on its own, of people-centred development. People-centred development is an approach to international development that focuses on improving self-reliance of local communities, social justice, and participatory decision-making. Economic Growth and People-Centred (Human) Development: It is important to state here that economic growth does not, on its own, translate to human development. This is because, there must be social, political, and environmental values and practice put in place to achieve it. Human developme...

WHY MOST LESS-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ARE INCAPABLE OF AUTO-CENTRIC DEVELOPMENT

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We’ll start with how one can identify a less-developed country. Here are some of the characteristics of a less-developed country: A country without a lot of industrial activity (low industrial performance) High poverty rates High rate of population increase (population explosion) Low per capita income Low gross national product Shortage of capital (public and private) Low infrastructural development High dependency of the populace on the government, as well as high dependence of the government on foreign aid High unemployment rates Almost (or complete) total reliance on primary goods exports (e.g. agricultural, mined, or other ‘extracted’ products) Predominance of agriculture Overall low level of productivity and investment (both foreign and domestic) Predominance of social and political instability and insecurity Low relative development index Now we have gotten that down, let’s look into auto-centric development. The word “Auto-centric” ...