Difference between economic growth and development
The main differences between economic development and economic growth are
- Development is a discontinuous and spontaneous change in the stationary state which, forever alters and displaces the equilibrium state previously existing, while growth is a gradual and steady change in the long run, which comes about by a general increase in the rate of savings and population.
- Economic development deals with the problems of under developed countries, whereas economic growth deals with the problems of developed countries.
- Prof. Maddison is of the view that, “The rising of income levels is generally called economic growth in rich countries and in poor countries it is called economic development, which is the outcome of deliberate planning”. Thus, the term economic development is used for the fuller utilization of unutilized natural and human resources of the underdeveloped countries, while the term economic growth is referred for maintaining the situation of full employment in developed countries.
- According to Kindleberger, “Economic growth means more output. Economic development is the technical and institutional setup by which such output is produced and distributed.”
- Economic Development means changes such as social, economic, and other changes which boost economic growth. Economic growth is measurable, but economic development cannot be precisely measured.
- In the opinion of Robert Clower growth is possible without development. Economic growth may not have any percolation effect on the society. It may bypass the people. Growth can be jobless and ruthless. It may not bring real prosperity and social welfare. People’s standard of living may not rise due to higher economic growth. On the other contrary, the process of economic development has favourable effect on economic growth.
Differences between economic development and economic growth
These differences show that there are no water tight differences between economic development and economic growth. Economic growth is a Economic Development quantitative measure of development, while economic development is both quantitative and qualitative measure of development. Today’s economic development can be tomorrow’s economic growth. Most often we loosely refer only to ‘growth’, and, occasionally, for the sake of variety to ‘progress’ and ‘development’. However, Gills et.al. (1996) said that the term economic development and economic growth are sometimes used interchangeably, but there is a fundamental distinction between them. Economic growth refers to a rise in national or per capita income and product, but economic development implies fundamental changes in the structure of the economy.
Economic growth
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| Economic growth in the UK |
Economic growth measures an increase in Real GDP (real output). GDP is a measure of the national income / national output and national expenditure. It basically measures the total volume of goods and services produced in an economy.
Economic development
Development looks at a wider range of statistics than just GDP per capita. Development is concerned with how people are actually affected. It looks at their actual living standards and the freedom they have to enjoy a good standard of living.
Measures of economic development will look at:
- Real income per head – GDP per capita
- Levels of literacy and education standards
- Levels of healthcare e.g. number of doctors per 1000 population
- Quality and availability of housing
- Levels of environmental standards
- Life expectancy.
Absolute Poverty. Do people have sufficient resources to maintain a healthy diet and basics of life such as shelter? Economic growth may be essential to enable higher incomes for people to be able to buy more food. However, economic growth doesn’t necessarily improve everyone’s living standards. Economic growth could bypass the poorest sections of society because they don’t have the ability to take part. A key issue is whether the benefits of economic growth are equitably distributed amongst different groups of society.
Education standards. e.g. literacy rates. Economic growth may enable more money to be spent on education. However, there is no guarantee that the proceeds of growth will be used to improve education standards. There is often a weak correlation between GDP and literacy rates.
Environmental standards. Economic growth can actually harm the environment and people’s living standards. For example, higher output could cause more pollution. If higher growth involves cutting down forests – this could have adverse environmental consequences in long-term.
Transport / Infrastructure Economic development would require improvements in infrastructure and transport. This may be important for regions which may be cut off from the main areas of economic growth.
Measures of economic development
Measuring economic development is not as precise as measuring GDP because it depends on what factors are included in the measure.
There are several different measures of economic development, such as the Human development index (HDI)
Human development index (HDI)
Human development index (HDI) The HDI combines:
- Life Expectancy Index. Average life expectancy compared to a global expected life expectancy.
- Education Index
- mean years of schooling
- expected years of schooling
- Income Index (GNI at PPP)
more on Human development index (HDI)
Factors affecting economic growth in developing countries
- Levels of infrastructure – e.g. transport and communication
- Levels of corruption, e.g what percentage of tax rates are actually collected and spent on public services.
- Educational standards and labour productivity. Basic levels of literacy and education can determine the productivity of the workforce.
- Levels of inward investment. For example, China has invested in many African countries to help export raw materials, that its economy needs.
- Labour mobility. Is labour able to move from relatively unproductive agriculture to more productive manufacturing?
- The flow of foreign aid and investment. Targeted aid, can help improve infrastructure and living standards.
- Level of savings and investment. Higher savings can fund more investment, helping economic growth.
Economic growth without development
It is possible to have economic growth without development. i.e. an increase in GDP, but most people don’t see any actual improvements in living standards. This could occur due to:
- Economic growth may only benefit a small % of the population. For example, if a country produces more oil, it will see an increase in GDP. However, it is possible, that this oil is only owned by one firm, and therefore, the average worker doesn’t really benefit.
- Corruption. A country may see higher GDP, but the benefits of growth may be syphoned into the bank accounts of politicians
- Environmental problems. Producing toxic chemicals will lead to an increase in real GDP. However, without proper regulation, it can also lead to environmental and health problems. This is an example of where growth leads to a decline in living standards for many.
- Congestion. Economic growth can cause an increase in congestion. This means people will spend longer in traffic jams. GDP may increase but they have lower living standards because they spend more time in traffic jams.
- Production not consumed. If a state-owned industry increases output, this is reflected in an increase in GDP. However, if the output is not used by anyone then it causes no actual increase in living standards.
- Military spending. A country may increase GDP by spending more on military goods. However, if this is at the expense of health care and education it can lead to lower living standards.
Evaluation
It depends on the nature of economic growth.
- Are the proceeds of growth used to improve living standards?
- Does everyone benefit from the higher GDP or are the proceeds kept by a small %?
- Might be useful to use statistics like the Human Development Index which look at real GDP, but also education and health care indexes.
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