Economic Development:Meaning and Indicators

Liberty from poverty is the essence of development. A better society with modern amenities where individuals enjoy quantitatively higher life and a dignified nation committed to sustained and advanced standard of living for longer period for a longer segments of the people are the concerned of economic development.

According to Adam Smith, "Development as an inquiry into the nature and causes of wealth of nation and their rise."

Similarly, Karl Marx defined,"Development in terms of fair share of national income for all including workers."

M.P. Todaro defined, "Development as in terms of three values

• Life Sustance
  
• Freedom of Choice;
• Self-Esteem.

Life Sustance

It means that the basic amenities like food, clothing, shelter, health, education, etc. It means availability of basic amenities to everyone.

Freedom of Choice

means freedom from hunger deprivation, destitution. Choice means expansion of capacity to choose different life patterns and way of living.

Self-Esteem

It means dignity of a person.

Development means raising level of living standard of the common people, per capita income to be able to choose a better alternatives to live in society. As a policy, it means creating new and better opportunities of employment and reduction inequality.

Recently, UN defined development as;

• Equality

A nation is supposed to be economically developed, if there is:

1. Equal employment opportunities;


2. Equal burden of taxation;


3. Equal credit facility.

• Sustainability
  

A nation is supposed to be economically developed, if there is:

1. Long lasting development in financial sector;
2. Long lasting development in environment;
3. Long lasting development in physical infrastructures.

• Productivity

A nation is supposed to be economically developed, if there is high amount of factor income of all factors of production.

• Employment

A nation is supposed to be economically developed, if there is:

1. Political freedom;
2. Women empowerment;
3. Public participation in development;
4. Human rights.