Discuss the Extent to which it is possible to measure developement.

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Alex Day        HL Geography            9/1/2003

.Discuss the Extent to which it is possible to measure developement.

Development can be measured in many ways. Before being able to review the ways in which it can be measured and the extent to which the ways allow it to be measured, it is necessary to define ‘development’ itself. The definition of development clearly influences how it is measured; development is defined as ‘the process of change operating over time.’ Traditionally the term ‘development’ was synonymous with economic growth and it was seen as the process by which countries and societies advance and become richer. From this more traditional theory, the three worlds evolved, in which the First and Second Worlds were advanced or developing nations and the Third World counties were the undeveloped or developing nations. Traditional measurements of development focused on economic data, to show economic growth, and the acquisition of wealth, using indices such as GDP and GNP per capita. Over time, people have realised that the development of a country is not determined by its economy, although still it is a major part.

People realised that to look at development, people need to look at factors which affect the quality of life; social indicators such as health, education, and well-being and political factors such as people’s personal freedom.  It is all good and well to say that development is more that just economy, but when it comes to measuring development it is becoming increasingly difficult. Traditionally, measuring development was easy simply using quantative methods, but with many more factors determining a countries development, it has become very difficult to use quantative methods to actually determine developments, for example, how may one apply a quantative method to aspects of daily life such as freedom of speech? One can’t.

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In the late 20th century a new trend was developed. It was that the key issue was ‘sustainable development;’ development which uses resources responsibly, ensuring future generations can live at lease as well as current generations. Thus, the traditional measurements of economic output have no place in this approach. Sustainable development cannot allow damage to the environment or the loss of traditional customs. It may even be opposed to economic growth if it hinders the improvement of quality of life for people, or widens the gap between richer and poor.

A modern definition of development such as Todaro’s ‘process ...

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This answer shows a good understanding of the difficulties in measuring the level of development in a country. However, it is very one-sided. The command is to "discuss the extent to which" it is possible to measure development - the best answers would consider the argument that it may be possible in some ways to measure development (even if the final conclusion is against the idea). It is likely that examiners would expect the answer to explain how HDI and similar indices work, perhaps with some reference to the actual outcomes showing which countries have the highest and lowest levels of development. The point could also be made that although no single index is perfect, when countries consistently appear in the top or bottom of several rankings, it probably does tell us something about actual development levels.