Development studies

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Development studies is a multidisciplinary branch of social science which addresses issues of concern to developing countries. It has historically placed a particular focus on issues related to social and economic development, and its relevance may therefore extend to communities and regions outside of the developing world.

Development studies is offered as a specialised Master's degree in a number of universities, and, less commonly, as an undergraduate degree. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the early 1990s, and has been most widely taught and researched in the third world and in countries with a colonial history, such as the UK, where development studies originated.[1]

Students of development studies often choose careers in international organisations such as the United Nations or the World Bank, non-governmental organisations, private sector development consultancy firms, and research centres.

Contents

Development studies is a broad field united primarily by thematic concentration. It encompasses and involves a variety of disciplines, including:

The emergence of development studies as an academic discipline in the second half of the twentieth century is in large part due to increasing concern about economic prospects for the third world after decolonisation. In the immediate post-war period, development economics, a branch of economics, arose out of previous studies in colonial economics. By the 1960s, an increasing number of development economists felt that economics alone could not fully address issues such as political effectiveness and educational provision.[2] Development studies arose as a result of this, initially aiming to integrate ideas of politics and economics. Since then, it has become an increasingly inter- and multi-disciplinary subject, encompassing a variety of social scientific fields.

The era of modern development is commonly deemed to have commenced with the inauguration speech of Harry S. Truman in 1949. In Point Four of his speech, with reference to Latin America and other poor nations, he said that "for the first time in history, humanity possess[ed] the knowledge and skill to relieve the suffering of these people.".[3] But development studies has since also taken an interest in lessons of past development experiences of Western countries.

Main article: Development criticism

Despite the orthodox view of Development as relating to the process of increasing the relative and absolute wealth of LDCs, usually through notions of increased output of either industrial or agricultural goods, many academics, e.g. Gilbert Rist and Stefan Andreasson, dispute that Development has any meaning within this context. They contend that Development of LDCs to the wealth levels of the richer OECD nations, using extractive production and trading processes similar to those of OECD nations, is untenable because of the ecological and environmental damage which would ensue.[4] The argument for a completely new paradigm of Development has validity for many observers and academics.

  1. ^ Kothari, U. (ed), A Radical History of Development Studies: Individuals, Institutions and Ideologies
  2. ^ Kothari, U. (ed), A Radical History of Development Studies: Individuals, Institutions and Ideologies
  3. ^ Rist, G., The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith
  4. ^ Andreasson, S., Accumulation and Growth to What End?

  • Development and Change
  • Development Policy Review
  • European Journal of Development Research
  • Journal of Development Studies
  • Journal of Human Development
  • Journal of International Development
  • Population and Development Review
  • Public Administration and Development
  • Third World Quarterly
  • World Development


  • Clark, D.A. (ed.) (2006) The Elgar Companion to Development Studies, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
  • Chenery, H. and Srinivasan, T.N. (eds), (1988), Handbook of Development Economics, Elseiver, Amsterdam.
  • Sen, A.K. (1984) Resources, Values and Development, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.


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