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Hi there,
Thank you very much for appreciating the letter. I agree with you that
subtle nuances in the choice of words is very important. Especially in
economics.
A study of the development of economic terminology over the past century
would not only deepen our understanding of the effects of changing
connotations, but would also reveal certain short-term and longer term
tendencies. From the point of view of semantic analyses dictionary entries
contain information on three levels of terms' semantics: significative,
denotative and connotative. The significate, the concept reference of the
term, is its association with certain synonymic, antonymic, hyper- and
hyponymic and thematic ranges. And this brings us to the core of whether
'economic growth' and 'economic development' can be used as synonyms.
Actually not.
Because, Economic Growth is the concept which describes an economic
occurance wherein there is an increase in the actual amount of goods and
services produced in one year. Only when the real value of GDP and the
circular flow of income has increased can the economic growth be said to
have occurred.
Economic Development, however, is a broader concept than economic growth.
It combines growth with an improvement in living standards. Economic growth
does not take into account how GDP is distributed or the degree of poverty
that exists or how much access people have to basic needs such as
schooling, heath and socials services. Economic Development does.
In our YES Discussions we have to be able to distinguish and delineate the
fact that though there are some countries where 'economic growth' has
occurred, 'economic development' has NOT. Because the wealth is
concentrated in the hands of a few. It is these countries that we may
choose to advise the promotion of development economics.
Dudley Seers in the ' The Meaning of Development' defines development as
"the reduction and elimination of poverty, inequality and unemployment
within a growing economy".
Sometimes the term Human Development is used to describe economic
development in an even broader sense. Michael Todaro suggests that
improving living standards must ensure wider economic and social choices.
He argues that development should "expand the range of economic and social
choice to individuals and nations by freeing them from servitude and
dependence, not only in relation to other people and nation states but also
to the forces of ignorance and human misery".
Once the distinction has been made between the growth and development then
thought must be give to the appropriateness of growth indicators such as
GDP to measure development.
Therefore it is not advisable to use 'economic development' instead of
'economic growth' because these two terms mean two different things; and,
it is this difference we need to bring forward if 'youth unemployment' is
to be projected as a core objective of modern world economics.
Further, I beg to disagree with the view that the term 'growth' is
associated with IMF negativism and structuralisation, because even as far
back as the early 1900s the final goal of Lenin's Marxist 'collectivism'
was economic growth. Today China, Russia etc all struggle for economic
growth. And economic development.
Please don't mind this boring verbiage. But, in real earnestness I thought
that I must explain my cause-rationale for the employment of the said term.
Thank you,
With best regards,
Tony Mathur
Discussion Moderator
tony@yesweb.org
YES E-group Archive
http://www.edc.org/hypermail/yes/
Dear Tony,
Thank you for the introduction of the e-Discussion topics. I have a couple
of brief comments.
You have used the term "economic growth" in a sense - the "holy grail" -
that may give the impression of implicitly endorsing the global strategies
of organizations like the International Monetary Fund, for instance, or the
Chicago School of Economics (Milton Friedman et al). Could you please
clarify what you mean by "economic growth"?
May I suggest a better term than "economic growth" is "economic
development"? The term "economic growth" is often associated with
market-led strategies, IMF structural adjustment loans, and a particular
school of economic theory. More than merely making a semantic point are our
efforts to encourage youth employment leadership in the different economic
and historical contexts we see around us.
Thanks,
Fred
Fred Clark
Communications Manager
Youth Employment Summit
55 Chapel St,
Newton MA 02458
USA
Tel. 1 617 618 2743
Fax. 1 617 969 4902
www.youthemploymentsummit.org
Join your YES Country Network today to contribute to the Global Campaign
for Youth Employment. Visit the YES website for details,
http://www.yesweb.org/yesnetworks/index.html
05/13/03
YES Campaign e-Discussion Topics
GREETINGS TO CHAMPIONS OF YOUTH EMPLOYMENT.
The Youth Employment Summit Discussion Forum is an interactive forum. Here
we not only invite you to contribute your valuable ideas to promote the
cause of youth employment worldwide, but also to introduce you to some key
economic schools of thought that form the bedrock of the modern
socio-economic "holy grail" called economic growth. For we know that it is
economic growth that provides the right environment for youth employment.
We propose to post key findings, research data, case studies, extracts from
authoritative texts, and allied materials, to catalyze your thinking, and
to, encourage your innovative impulses.
The Youth Employment Summit has enshrined the 6 Es which will be used as a
framework for the discussion topics on the YES e-group, a subscriber group
of over 2,000 people from over 100 countries. The 6Es are:
Employability: To ensure access for all youth to appropriate education and
training followed by adequate support during the transition to work,
regardless of their location or background. We cannot confront the
challenges of tomorrow with yesterday's skills. Educational institutions
must show unprecedented imagination and vision, using new tools for new
times. They must impart marketable skills, promote self-esteem and shape a
worldview that embraces the new, opens up to the other, and rises to the
challenge of the untried.
Employment Creation: To adopt those policies that will encourage job-led
economic growth, reduce the bias towards capital, and foster the
institutional structures that can provide the advantages of scale at both
the production and marketing phases of micro-enterprises supported by
micro-credit. The corporate sector has a major responsibility in supporting
micro-enterprises and self-employed youth through mechanisms of
franchising, outsourcing and buy-back arrangements.
Equity: To provide equal opportunities for all to realize their full
potential. Education, health and nutrition are fundamental rights for all.
Special attention must be given to the needs of the disabled, the rural,
and the marginalized groups in society, and above all, to young women,
whether in education or when entering the labor force for the first time,
and who in many parts of the world still suffer from discriminatory
barriers. No society has truly advanced by depriving itself of the talents
and abilities of half of its population.
Entrepreneurship: To engender the special creativity of youthful
entrepreneurs, who see social and economic opportunities where others only
see problems. Entrepreneurs, whether they are working in the villages or in
the capital markets, are the visionaries who generate livelihoods for
themselves and for others. We need to encourage, nurture and support their
quest for the new and the untried.
Environmental Sustainability: To seek sustainable employment opportunities
based on attention to water, land, energy, the atmosphere, biodiversity and
eco-system management. It would be shortsighted to destroy our environment
in the quest for transient employment opportunities.
Empowerment: To harness the uncommon opportunities of the ICT revolution to
include the excluded and reach the unreached in terms of knowledge and
skill empowerment. The whole constellation of institutional arrangements
from credit to resource-use, from marketing to connectivity and content,
must be structured in a way that empower youth in their quest for
sustainable livelihoods.
We propose to take up critical topics every month that will expound and
elucidate the 6 Es.
This missive is to acquaint our members with the Discussion Forum's policy
and focus in the months to come.
You will be please to welcome the first topic on the 20th May, 2003.
Looking forward to seeing you then.
With best regards,
Tony Mathur
Moderator
tony@yesweb.org
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