Development Definition

I love Sen's definition - "the process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy" - and I appreciate that he wants people to think of the ends of the process rather than the means. But this leaves out that (big "D") Development is an intentional process led (designed?) by several different types of actors. I think the definition should be neutral as well as to whether these policies are effective or not, too.  So, I'm going to try to capture that in my definition. Development is the accumulation of designed policy interventions by domestic and international actors with the goal of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy.

Comments

[hansiong]

In a way, i agree with you Lauren.. Sen's definition is certainly very persuasive. All these talk about big 'D' and small 'D', in my opinion, makes it very difficult to really try to ascertain what development is all about.

I would rather think of development in the sense of a conclusion: I would say that a nation is developed when its people enjoys enough economic liberation to want to develop another nation. That is what development strive to do, not measured by economic growth or democratic freedoms or right to vote (though all three are important), because by arriving at such a stage of development would mean that the state of the nation is already advanced enough, the rest is just formality.