DEVELOPMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN WHAT IS DEVELOPMENT Three

DEVELOPMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN

WHAT IS DEVELOPMENT? Three main ideas have imbued the concept of development and they are Development as the enactment of human values Development as increasing differentiation or complexity Development as liberation or human freedom

DEVELOPMENT AS THE ENACTMENT OF HUMAN VALUES This is a concept; that for anything to develop or become better, improvements have to be related to some values that are being enacted For example, what would it take for you to develop as an individual? Certainly, placing a value on the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Some may place importance on material wealth Hence, when development is being contemplated for society some set of values is going to be emphasized depending on what type of development that society wants

DEVELOPMANT AS INCREASING DIFFRENTIATION OR COMPLEXITY This states that for anything to develop it must become more complex and more differentiated , for example let us take a developing country, this might be one which is agrarian with limited industries but to become a developed society this developing society must become more complex by mechanizing farms and investing in industrial development and so on. A developed society is more complex.

DEVELOPMENT AS LIBERATION OR HUMAN FREEDOM FOR any people to be developed this must be accompanied by growth in their autonomy, in options they can pursue and in their sense of self efficacy- that their actions are significant and can make a difference Many people see development as human freedom through education. This is why education is often a major part of the developmental plan for any society for education empowers and allow growth of a society.

APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT Economic development : This is concerned with human welfare but emphasizes that development is based on economic development the economy. A tradition then began of devising indicators that could measure different aspects of development and they are a) Gross national product[GNP] b) Gross domestic product[GDP] c) Population growth rate d) Age dependency ratio

MEANING OF TERMS GNP- is the value of output [goods and services] produced by a country plus any income derived from abroad. GNP per capita is obtained by dividing the GNP by the population. This indicates the average income of citizens in a country as high, middle or low GDP- is the total market value of the out put [goods and services] of a country in a given year Population growth rate- is calculated by considering birth and death rates as well as migration statistics and is a key indicator of development. Usually it means that if a country can keep its total population growth down then its per capita income should rise

Age dependency ratio- is the ratio of dependents- people younger than 15 and older than 65 to the working- age population. This suggests that if there are more economically active persons than dependents then a country is better able to take care of its dependents

Areas of human development Human development- people are the means and ends to development. They are central to the development process and we know when development has occurred by looking at the quality of their lives Human development is also largely about broadening people’s choices; they have more options and opportunities to develop themselves This also states that poverty and income inequality are major problems of human societies that prevent a better quality of life Human development envisages development as a process whereby a country works on eradicating the barriers to four key areas of development: equity, productivity, empowerment and sustainability

Areas of human development Equity- a commitment on the part of the government and people of a country to enable all social groups to access the opportunities that the country offers to be fair to all groups as they grasp these opportunities thus the poor , women, the handicapped, those of different religions or political views etc should be equally able to access opportunities Productivity- this is based on the notion that if one takes advantage of what opportunities there and become qualified they get jobs they are happy with and in so doing will perform better at these jobs and in turn the country benefits Empowerment- a degree to which individuals feel a sense of selfefficacy. This enables them to make decisions that are in their best interest this in turn benefits the society Sustainability- this is the goal of human development that development can be maintained, and development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations

FACTORS INFLUENCING DEVELOPMENT [HINDERING OR PROMOTING] Political factors Social factors Economic factors Cultural factors Environmental factors Tourism

POLITICAL FACTORS Political ideologies and popular movements have from time to time challenged the status quo of the Caribbean Political ideologies are systems of beliefs about governance and power that reflect the needs and aspirations of particular social groups Capitalism, is the dominant political ideology in the Caribbean it emphasizes market- led development also known as free enterprise and during the independence era emphasis was only on increasing economic growth and not on the reduction of poverty So some Caribbean thinkers began to consider ways to reduce poverty and raise the quality of life of people They were influenced by the dependency theorists of Latin America This approach to development emphasizes underdevelopment showing how the colonial conditions encouraged dependency

POLITICAL FACTORS So some leaders of the Caribbean adopted ideologies to govern which they taught would benefit their region, one such ideology being Marxism The Marxist type revolutions of Cuba[1959] and Grenada [1979] aimed at increasing human development by the nationalization of all productive enterprises and people enjoyed but productivity waned as the centrally planned and subsidized state enterprises became inefficient and corrupt This corruption hinders the process of development for leaders place self before country

SOCIAL FACTORS The distribution of wealth and resources is a factor that can either promote or hinder development The primary importance of these indicators is to give a good idea of the levels of poverty and inequality in a country and show it hiders development Poverty - Haiti recorded the highest poverty levels 76% for the region, Guyana 35% of the population live in poverty and most of the Eastern Caribbean is poverty stricken. This stems from a lack of equity among social groups thus to tackle the bases of poverty inequity in a society must be tackled Inequality- in Haiti, St. Vincent, Antigua and Barbuda there are high levels of inequalities. When there is a large income gap between the different social groups , social stratification becomes entrenched and poorer groups suffer. In countries where income distribution is less unequal e. g. Barbados some members of poorer groups are able to become socially mobile. social and economic equalization [the degree to which all groups are experiencing similar levels of income , access to goods and services and other opportunities] determines if a society is developed or not

ECONOMIC FACTORS q a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) The productive sector refers to the economy of a country – and the production of goods and services contribute to or hinder development. The productive sector can be classified into primary or extractive industries , secondary or manufacturing industries , and tertiary or industries of services Some of the factors which impact on the productive sector of the Caribbean are Competitiveness Demand Productivity Infrastructure Investment climate Debt External shocks Technology

CULTURAL FACTORS Our ideas and assessments of Caribbean society and culture and what Caribbean development means are shaped by our socialization- at home, in school, and by the media. There are different views and interpretations of how Caribbean identity and experiences should be defined and these have different implications for development Western model: one group takes the view that Caribbean society and development can de discussed in relation to the concepts about society and development in the Western world. Caribbean society is seen to be merely at an earlier stage in the modernization process. Exploitation: Caribbean society from the beginning and throughout colonialism was based on exploitation and large- scale import of labour to form rigidly stratified social system. For example the institution we have inherited were all created under conditions of oppression and inequality. Take the education system we have been engaged in decades of school reform but this institution is plagued by inequities. The children of the rich and powerful in the society excel in academic achievement and with this exploitation of the lower class is inevitable so hindering development.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS q q q Natural disasters hinders development in the Caribbean, namely hurricanes and volcanic activity. These disasters wreaks havoc , economic growth is reduced and human welfare is jeopardized as many face dislocation, poverty and destitution. Resources are lost and all in all development is affected since with a disaster a country is required to use its revenue to rebuild its economy and infrastructure Man made disasters also have a negative impact on development, in this case sustainability. Big business interests tend to pollute the environment and poor farmers, especially on hill slopes, engage in practices leading to soil erosion. These disasters hinder development The occasional nature of hurricanes seems to engage governments in a game of probability and an assumption that this year they will be spared. This is a careless and irrational attitude to adopt.

TOURISM Tourism is the biggest industry in the world today and all Caribbean countries are looking to attract more tourist. If marketed and with proper investments it can contribute to the development of a country At the same time it may hinder the process of development due to the social ills which accompany tourism such as the spread of diseases, std’s, western values may threaten local ways of life, pollution, too much urbanization in a country, marginalization of local populations and the list continues.