Economic Growth and Economic Development Original Essay Example for Free

Economic Growth and Economic Development Original Essay In contemporary times, certain economic registers are used frequently. Arguably two of these most used terms in economics, ‘economic growth’ and ‘economic development’ are terms that just about everyone is at least remotely familiar with, even if they have not studied economics at all. Sometimes it seems everyone knows what economic growth and economic development is. Politicians use these terms all the time, and so do teachers, managers and even preachers. Often, people’s use of these terms may not be quite accurate, but one has to admit that most of the time they are never too far from the mark. Insights into the aforementioned terms ‘economic growth’ and ‘economic development’ are given as follows†¦ Economic Growth Economic Growth is an increase in a countrys real level of national output which can be caused by an increase in the quality of resources by education etc, increase in the quantity of resources improvements in technology. Economic Growth can also be described as an increase in a countrys productive capacity, as measured by comparing gross national product (GNP) in a year with the GNP in the previous year. In other words, Economic Growth is an increase in the real level of output as measured by the annual percentage in real GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Increase in the capital stock, advances in technology, and improvement in the quality and level of literacy are considered to be the principal causes of economic growth. In recent years, the idea of sustainable development has brought in additional factors such as environmentally sound processes that must be taken into account in growing an economy. Measurement of Economic Growth Economists usually measure economic growth in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) or related indicators, such as gross national product (GNP) or gross national income (GNI) which is derived from the GDP calculation. GDP is calculated from a countrys national accounts which report annual data on incomes, expenditure and investment for each sector of the economy. Using these data it is possible to estimate the total income earned in the country in any given year (GDP) or the total income earned by a countrys citizens (GNP or GNI). GNP is derived by adjusting GDP to include repatriated income that was earned abroad, and exclude expatriated income that was earned domestically by foreigners. In countries where inflows and outflows of this sort are significant, GNP may be a more appropriate indicator of a nations income than GDP. There are three different ways of measuring GDP †¢the income approach †¢the output approach †¢the expenditure approach The income approach, as the name suggests measures peoples incomes, the output approach measures the value of the goods and services used to generate these incomes, and the expenditure approach measures the expenditure on goods and services. In theory, each of these approaches should lead to the same result, so if the output of the economy increases, incomes and expenditures should increase by the same amount. How to boost Economic Growth in a country In order for a country to experience economic growth, certain things have to be done. In my own opinion, I believe that; As more people are employed, the amount of capital increases, education levels increase, the quality of capital changes, or the technology increases, the productive capacity of the economy increases. Therefore, the economy can increase its output giving consumers more disposable income, promoting an increase in consumption spending, and providing resources for business to use for further investment and government to use to provide public goods and services. Increased labor force participation increases output. Expanded, improved education creates more productive workers. Business and government spending on research and development enhance our abilities to produce and allow each worker to become more productive, increasing incomes for all. Finally, to achieve a higher level of GDP in the future, consumers need to limit consumption spending and increase savings today, permitting businesses to invest more in capital goods. If resources are invested into building an economy now, future generations will enjoy a higher level of economic growth; our businesses will produce more goods and consumers can purchase more goods. Expansion of output at rates faster than our population growth is what gives us the opportunity to enjoy higher standards of living. Economic development Economic development is a normative concept meaning that the definition is variable however; the definition given by Michael Todaro is ‘’an increase in living standards, improvement in self-esteem needs and freedom from oppression as well as a greater choice.’’ Economic development can be defined as the advancement of a nation or society according to several economic factors. Economic development generally includes such trends as technological innovation, improvements in the standard of living and life expectancy, and increases in the amount of invested assets per capita At the core of the definition is the point that economic development is not just about dollars and cents but is about community well-being and creating communities that people want to live in. It is a constant challenge for small communities to hold onto their young people. There must be jobs and facilities that the next generation expects as a standard. Providing infrastructure on one hand and building social capital on the other will lead to community sustainability and resilience which eventually boils down to ‘’economic development’’ In a few words one can say that the scope of economic development includes the process and policies by which a nation improves the economic, political, and social well-being of its people. Measurement of Economic Development There are several criteria or principles to measure the economic development. Let us make a detailed study of these measurements for better understanding. 1. National Income: Some economists have taken increase in the real national income as the indicator of economic development because per-capita income depends upon the national income. National Income is related with the final goods and services produced in a country. According to this method the state of continuous increase in national income can be taken as economic development. This is majorly applicable to the poor and middle class countries. Short-run increase in national income cannot be taken as economic development. Likewise increase in the national income as a result of increase in price of goods and services cannot be defined as economic development. 2. Per Capita Income: Increase in per-capita income has been pointed out by some economists as a basis for measuring economic development; According to the classification given by the United Nations Organization in 1989, countries having per capita income less than 580 US dollars fall in the class of poor countries, countries having per capita income between 580 US dollars and 6,000 US dollars are in the middle class, and countries having per capita income more than 6,000 US dollars are in the class of rich countries. According to World Development Report 2009, per capita income of Nepal is 340 US dollars. Such indicator makes the comparative study of different countries easy. On the basis of per capita income the economic growth rate of any country can be found out. The increase in per capita income of any country shows the increase in economic growth rate of the country The UNO experts in their report on Measures of Economic Development of Underdeveloped Countries have also accepted this measurement of development. 3. Economic Welfare Index: Economists like Colin Clark Kindleberger, D. Bright Singh, and Hersick etc. have suggested economic welfare as the measure of economic development. The term economic welfare can be understood in two ways: (a) When there is equal distribution of national income among all the sections of the society. It raises economic welfare. (b) When the purchasing power of money goes up, even then there is an increase in the level of economic welfare. The purchasing power of money can go up when with the increase in national income there is also increase in the prices of goods. That means economic welfare can increase if price stability is ensured. Thus economic welfare can boost with equal distribution of income and price stability. Higher the level of economic welfare, higher will be the extent of economic development and vice-versa. 4. Measurement through Occupational Pattern: The distribution of working population in different occupations is also regarded as criteria for the measurement of economic development. According to Colin Clark there is deep relation between the occupational structure and economic development. He has divided the occupational structure in three sectors (a) Primary Sector: It includes agriculture, fisheries, forestry, mining etc. (b) Secondary Sector: It consists of manufacturing, trade, construction etc. (c) Tertiary Sector: It includes services, banking, transport, etc. In underdeveloped countries, majority of the working population is engaged in primary sector. On the contrary, in developed countries the majority of the working population works in tertiary sector. When a country makes economic progress, its working population begins to shift from primary sector to secondary and tertiary sectors. 5. Human Development Index (HDI): The modern economists were not satisfied with GNP, per capita or national income as the principal measures of economic progress. According to them, the issue is not only how much growth but what kind of growth and as a result, they formulated the Human Development Index (HDI). This indicator was for the first time developed by United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the year 1990.There were a number of measures which were included in this index, However, to keep the HDI simple and manageable, the following main variables were included in it (a) Life expectancy was chosen as a measure of long life (b) Literacy as an index of knowledge and (c) Real GDP per person which represents Income for decent living. 6. Physical quality of life index (PQLI): This is non-income indicator of economic development because this uses physical quality of life as the indicator. This method of measuring economic development is based on the following three things. They are:– (a) Life expectancy (b) Infant mortality (c) Literacy. Countries having low life expectancy, low literacy rate and high infant mortality will have low index. If in any country PQLI is increasing then it indicates the increase in the physical quality of the life of people. Increase in per-capita income does not necessarily indicate the increase in the facilities like healthy food, health, situation, education, etc. Therefore PQLI method is taken to be better indicator than per-capita income method. In addition to these various indicators the following facts are also taken as the indicators of economic development. (a) Equality improvement.(b) Poverty alleviation(c) Quality of life (d) Capital formation(e) Fulfillment of basic needs.(f) Population growth rare (g) Increase in employment opportunities (h) Decrease in dependence on agriculture (i) Increase in entrepreneurship (j) Utilization of natural resources (k) Increase in export of finished goods. (l) Trade diversification (m) Extension of infrastructures DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT In general words, economic development refers to the problems of underdeveloped countries and economic growth to those of developed countries. The raising of income levels is generally called economic growth in rich countries and in poor ones it is called economic development. But this view does not specify the underlying forces which raise the income levels in the two types of economies. The problems of underdeveloped countries are concerned with the development of unused resources, even though their uses are well known, while those of advanced countries are related to growth, most of their resources being already known and developed to a considerable extent. In fact, the terms development and growth have nothing to do with the type of economy. The distinction between the two relates to the nature and causes of change. These two terms may also be explained as the development is a discontinues 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 gradual increase in the rate of savings and population. This view has been widely accepted and elaborated by the majority of economists. Economic Growth does not take into account the depletion of natural resources which might lead to pollution, congestion disease. Development however is concerned with sustainability which means meeting the needs of the present without compromising future needs. These environmental effects are becoming more of a problem for Governments now that the pressure has increased on them due to Global warming. According to another school of thought, economic growth means more output, while economic development employs both more output and changes in the technical and institutional arrangements by which it is produced and distributed. Growth may well involve not only more output derived from greater amounts of inputs but also greater efficiency, either, and increase in output per unit of input. Development goes beyond this two employ changes in the composition of output and in the allocation of inputs by sectors. According to some classical economists the growth is an expansion of the system in one or more dimensions without a change in its structure, and development is an innovative process leading the structural transformation of social system. Thus economic growth is related to a quantitative sustained increase in the countrys per capita output or income accompanied by expansion in its labor force, consumption, capital, and volume of trade. On the other hand, economic development is a wider term. It is related to qualitative change in economic wants, goods, incentives, and institutions. It describes the underlying determinants of growth such as technological and structural change. Development embraces both growth and decline. An economy can grow but it may not develop because poverty, unemployment and inequalities may continue to persist due to the absence of technological and structural changes. But it is difficult to imagine development without economic growth in the absence of an increase in output per capita, particularly when population is growing rapidly. Despite these apparent differences, some economists use these terms as synonyms.

Multicultural Education Means Mediocre Education, Part II :: miscellaneous

Multicultural Education Means Mediocre Education, Part II I had taught high school and middle school English and social studies in a public school system for thirty-four years, retiring from the teaching profession in July of 1999. Any observations, opinions and conclusions I make about Multicultural Education are not theoretical: they are pragmatically based on experience and my interactions with over four thousand students. And I have been scrutinizing and studying Multicultural Education for four decades now and have heard too-many-times the lackluster educational jargon originating from college professors and from misguided advocates of M.E., and quite frankly those â€Å"elitist arguments† have become rather redundant, hackneyed and monotonous, and to think that I once wholeheartedly espoused those ethereal Multicultural Education principles as an idealistic teacher beginning my career back in September of 1965. Despite the â€Å"Happy Face† that supporters of Multicultural Education are attempting to promote and propagandize, one distinct adjective comes to mind whenever I think about Multicultural Education and that particular word is â€Å"insidious.† To the unsuspecting layman or college student â€Å"Diversity through M.E.† is a nifty catch phrase that sounds awfully noble and pleasant to the ears upon hearing its utterance, but the process known as Multicultural Education is actually quite detrimental to the implementation of effective American education. I deliberately describe the scourge as insidious because over the past forty years M.E. has imperceptibly and very cunningly been introduced, advanced and perpetuated by its militant proponents without the American public realizing exactly how harmful, how treacherous and how detrimental the seemingly benign terminology appears to be. First of all, Multicultural Education never clearly defines and identifies itself to the American public for what it really is. U.S, citizens automatically equate and associate M.E. with Bilingual Education and ESL (English as a Second Language), which the clever campaigners for M. E. never lucidly delineate and differentiate. Bilingual Education and ESL are indeed definite, positive, beneficial and necessary programs in our American public schools. Those two activities encourage and facilitate the cultural â€Å"Melting Pot† ideal whereby immigrant and certain minority students learn English and ESL and are hopefully successfully assimilated into American society after two-to-four years of exposure to a new language and a new culture. But Multicultural Education is the complete opposite and inverse of Bilingual Education and ESL. M.E. deceitfully and deliberately does not accurately distinguish itself from Bilingual Education and ESL to the unwary American public.

Dashain: The Festival of Nepal

Dashain Festival of Nepal INTRODUCTION Dashain is the biggest festival in Nepal. Dashain is celebrated by Nepalese people with great excitement. It is normally in the month of October but sometimes in late September. This festival is the longest and the most important of all festivals in Nepal. It falls in the best time of the year when fruits, vegetables and other foods are in plenty. And, all animals are well fed and healthy. It is said that Dashain is a celebration of the victory of the gods over the wicked demons.More sophisticated people think it as a message that good will always wins over bad in the end. And, we all should stand on the side of the good even when the bad side may look to be stronger. THE PREPARATION Before the first day of Dashain starts, people clean their houses, clean up the barns, paint white and red colours on the walls, paint the windows, repair the Aangan, repair the barns and trails in the villages, and paint the temples, schools and shelters with white clay. They buy new clothes, lots of food and spices.Then the celebration begins. THE FIFTEEN DAYS OF DASHAIN The fifteen days are said to mark the various events in the war between the gods and the demons. These fifteen days of Dashain are celebrated as follows: * Day 1: Ghastapana:Â  It is the first day of moon and represents the start of the battle. All weapons and tools in the households are gathered, cleaned and put in a room where Goddess Durga’s worship is commenced. Seeds of corn and barley are planted in a large planter of leaves and kept in dark in the worship room.These seeds would have grown to be yellow seedlings (Jamara) by the ninth day, when they are offered to Vishwa Karma and to all worshippers on the tenth day. * Day 2-7: Dwitia to Saptami:Â  Represent the continuation of the battle. * Day 8: Ashtami:Â  Animals are sacrificed in the temples of Goddess Durga asking for her help to win the battle. * Day 9: Nawami:Â  People worship Durga in mass. Everyone goes to temple of Durga. Also Vishwa Karma (god of creativity) is worshipped at the room where all tools and weapons were kept and the tools are finally released from the room.All machinery like sewing machine, cars, carts and grinding mills are stopped and offerings are made to Vishwa Karma asking to protect from accidents and mishaps. This day signifies that everyone gets ready for the final battle. * Day 10: Vijaya Dasami:Â  Goddess Durga defeats demon Mahishasur. Good finally wins over the bad. Victory is celebrated with exchanges of blessings and best possible food one can afford. Elders in the family give blessings to the young and put Tika and Jamara on their forehead. People are supposed to pay honor to and get blessings from the all surviving elders in the family clan.All people seem to be on the move as they try to visit as many relatives as possible to collect the most possible blessings. * Day 11-14: Ekadashi – Chaturthi:Â  These days are for visiting elders tha t were too far to visit on the tenth day. Also if some difficulties prevented us from reaching home and elders. So Tika continues throughout Dashain. * Day 15: Purnima or Kojagrat Purnima:Â  Dashain ends on the day of full-moon. On this day, people stay at home and rest. Laxmi (the goddess of wealth) is worshiped on this date. People are now ready to work and acquire virtue, power and wealth.In Dashain, you want a tika from an older person in your family or from anyone. You want to receive blessings from as many wellwishers as you can. First you start in your family. The oldest person in your family gives Tika and blessings to the youngest then the second youngest and so on. Anticipation, fun, hope, blessings and friendship come to you in Dashain, especially when you are close to your relatives and friends, and not in a far-away land and alone. You still write to your relatives or call them if you can and get thier thoughts and blessings even when you are far-far-away!

Professional Pursuing An Accountant Position At The...

Objective: Motivated, hard-working, results-oriented professional pursuing an accountant position at the Department of Agriculture. †¢ First-Rate Reputation: Consistently receives outstanding performance evaluations. Exceptional interpersonal skills that contribute to a friendly and productive workplace. Timely and effectively completes all assigned tasks and demonstrates a willingness to take on new tasks to enhance professional growth and better serve the agencies’ mission. †¢ Computer proficiency: Wave Accounting System, Peachtree, Great Plains Software, iTRAK, Concur, NSF Proprietary Systems, Microsoft SharePoint, Exchange Server, and Office, including Word, Visio, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Project. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦s, and prepared financial reports †¢ Handled accounts payable; coding of invoices and all expenses including corporate credit cards transactions †¢ Developed accounting and financial instructions for the implementation of Wave accounting system †¢ Ensured that all contract-related billing complied with company guidelines †¢ Analyzed, examined, and interpreted account records, compiled financial information, and reconciled reports and financial data †¢ Monitored changes in revenue, accounts receivable and account payable †¢ Processed time sheets, prepared payroll tax in compliance with local, state and federal tax laws and regulations and monitored payroll budget for 10 employees †¢ Performed year closing procedures, reconciled financial statement and adjust budget figures for the new year †¢ Reviewed monthly bank account reconciliation and weekly account payable report CONVERTED TO PROGRAM SPECIALIST, FEBRUARY 2015 TO PRESENT, 40 HRS A WEEK UNOFFICIAL DETAIL ASSIGMENT PROGRAM SPECIALIST, APRIL 2014, 40 HRS A WEEK NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, ARLINGTON VA BUDGET MANAGEMENT/DATA COLLECTION, EVALUATION REPORTING †¢ Conducted financial analysis of four program budgets and monitored changes in government funds to recommend future awards for funding; oriented program directors on program budget spreadsheets and grants statuses †¢ Created, managed, and reconciled 1000 line items of budget spreadsheets for division funds, including standard grants, continuing grants, grants