POLI 211 Introduction to Development Studies Session 2 Part 2 – THE DEVELOPMENT DEBATE AND THE RELEVANCE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES – PART TWO Lecturer: Dr. Maame Adwoa A. Gyekye-Jandoh Contact Information: mgyekyej@yahoo.com

Session Overview Overview In this session, the student will be introduced to current and important issues regarding development. There will be a discussion of some issues regarding the actual attempts by the West and the international development agencies to bring development to the less developed countries, what their goals have been, and how they seek to continue development strategies and programs.

Session Outline The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows: Topic One: Western Developmental Efforts and their Critics Topic Two: The International Development Agencies and their Goals

Reading List Coralie Bryant and Louise White. (1982). “Redefining Development”. Rahnema, Majid and Victoria Bawtree. (1997). The Post-Development Reader; William Easterly. (2006). The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good. Penguin.

Western developmental efforts and their critics Topic One Western developmental efforts and their critics

Western Developmental Efforts and their Critics Scholarly works by Sachs (1992), Escobar (1994), Rahnema and Bawtree (1997), and Easterly (2002), for example, highlight the perception of Western developed countries as know-it-alls that seek to dictate the way to go towards development for developing or less-developed countries to follow.  William Easterly (2006), for example, criticizes Western developmentalism for being driven by the White Man’s Burden – which he argues is a situation where Western planners unrealistically think they know all the answers and seek developing countries to follow. By the 1980s, economic or development planning had fallen out of favor, and conservative ideas of free trade and World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund) structural adjustment loans had become quite popular, although structural adjustment was also not successful in many countries.

Western Developmental Efforts Since 2002, however, structural adjustment policies have been tied to accomplishment of the United Nation’s eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (which we will discuss in more detail in our final sessions). By the mid-1990s, new models for thinking about development policies had emerged - the most important - the “new institutionalism” movement. “New institutionalism” argued that in order for any durable economic progress to take place, there must first be some credible and legitimate institutions (such as property rights, healthcare, a civil service system, and an effective criminal justice system/rule of law) that will shape public values. Laws, rules, and regulations must be in place that can shape the economic behavior of individuals (Douglass North (1990), and Powell and Di Maggio (1991)).

Sample Questions What are two main criticisms leveled against Western developmental efforts? Briefly explain the new institutionalist argument for promoting the success of development policies.

The international development agencies and their goals Topic Two The international development agencies and their goals

The International Development Agencies and their Goals Note that there is an entire international development agency bureaucracy with goals and ideas about how to make lives better and bring development to the less developed nations of the world. 4 of these agencies are considered here: 1. The USAID (United States Agency for International Development). The mission of the USAID is to promote peace and stability by fostering economic growth, protecting human health, providing emergency humanitarian assistance, increasing literacy, and enhancing democracy in developing countries. USAID’s Goals: 1. It seeks to promote transformational development 2. strengthen fragile states 3. provide humanitarian relief 4. support US strategic interests, and 5. mitigate (or manage) global and transnational problems.  

The International Development Agencies and their Goals The World Bank is another international development agency which is very influential. 185 nations contribute to it, and it provides low interest loans, interest-free credit and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, communications, etc. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also has 185 nations contributing to it, like the World Bank, with which it works very closely. The IMF provides interest-only loans to countries to help ease balance of payment adjustments, or the system by which countries set their currency exchange rate. It also provides technical assistance and training for bank management, tax and customs policies, social safety nets, and debt management.  the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is another important international development agency that monitors a country’s progress toward the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, and annually ranks the world’s nations on the Human Development Index (HDI), which is an authoritative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education, standard of living, and in recent years also gender equity.

Conclusion of Session Two Part 2 This session has examined the criticisms, leveled by some scholars, of Western developmental efforts and strategies, some of which have not brought about the economic development sought. Secondly, students should have become familiar with the goals/activities of four international development agencies that seek to aid in the development process in developing countries.

References Coralie Bryant and Louise White. (1982). “Redefining Development”. Rahnema, Majid and Victoria Bawtree. (1997). The Post-Development Reader; William Easterly. (2006). The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good. Penguin.