Some economic development concepts

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Some economic development concepts
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Economic elements

• Economic - issues and processes of how goods
  services are produced distributed how wealth,
  profits, return on investment are distributed.
• Economic issues are related to
• who makes what why, when, how, and where?
• how, when, where do these things move about
  the landscape? - a spatial view.

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Types of economic systems

• Capitalist - private/corporate means of
  production, market determines prices, production,
  distribution the invisible hand/foot
• Socialist/centrally controlled- means of
  production and distribution are centrally
  controlled with government mostly making
  decisions, not the market.
• Barter markets - non-monetary economies, function
  on a trade-ya basis
• Can you think of examples of above on the border?

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How it is all aligned/positioned?

• Core and periphery - spatial configuration of
  political and economic elements
• core - wealthier, more developed center of
  capital
• periphery - spatial margins with less access to
  capital markets poorer, raw materials
  oriented often exploited by the core
• Where do you think Mexico exists?
• Geographic regions exist along a continuum

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Continuum of core/periphery
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Question Where does Mexico lie? The border?
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Development geographic process

• Development process by which people and
  political economies (states) strive to increase
  level of economic and social well being and
  improve their position in world system from
  periphery to the core.
• can be viewed as a physical process of making
  stuff
• can be viewed as a social process involving how
  well people are off
• can be viewed as both!

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Measurements of development

• How we measure development drives development
  policy.
• Policies in turn determine the impacts of
  development and how we fare.
• Development is an historical and a spatial
  process.
• Looking at history of development gives us
  insight into process.

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Measurements of development

• Development as GNP/GDP - value of total
  production corresponds to the level of
  development (circa 1950) any problems?
• Development as per capita GNP/GDP - the value
  of average total production corresponds to the
  level of development (circa 1950) problems?

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Measurements of development

• Development as modernization - levels of
  modernization/industrialization define
  development (western bias - circa 1965)
• Development as basic human needs (BHN's)- (Paul
  Streeten, 1975)
• individual is focus of analysis, not the state
• individual level of physical, social, and mental
  development is key
• basic level of BHN's level of development
• housing, employment, food
• education, health, and non-violence
• environmental quality

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Earth at night from space
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Measurements of development

• Human development index (HDI) - index reflecting
  the above BHN's and the essence of Streeten's
  argument deals with human and societal welfare
• Gender development index (GDI) - similar to HDI,
  yet more sensitive to gender differences, access
  to power and BHN's components deals with how
  well of women are relative to society in general

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Measurements of development

• Levels of development may be viewed
• As a binary concept developed and
  undeveloped/underdeveloped any problems?
• As a range of worlds
• First world wealthy core countries the club
• Second world former Eastern block socialist
  economies reforming towards the west
• Third World undeveloped countries having
  great trouble meeting their basic human needs
  problems?
• Perhaps best viewed on continuum of lesser and
  more developed countries
• Where does Mexico fall on continuum?
• Where does The Border fall on continuum?

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What about sustainable development?

• Sustainable development development that
  satisfies the current needs of society while
  leaving adequate resources to meet the needs of
  future generations
• Forms the core of Colbys Resource Management
  paradigm how does this ring?
• Seventh generation concept leaving adequate
  resources and environmental quality for the 7th
  generation
• We do not inherit the world from our ancestors,
  we borrow it from our children
• Much more on this later as regards border
  institutions and how they function

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The Kite - pulling it all together

• The Kite model of human environment interaction
  (see graphic following)
• Developed to look at development issues
• Contains all elements we discussed in view of
  regional geographies
• Offers a useful way to look at how all these
  elements change
• over space - core to periphery
• over time as economies grow

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Some discussion questions on the Kite

• How do you see The Kite fitting US-Mexico border
  development issues?
• How does this framework deal with the special
  manner by which space functions on the border?
• Can you see how this may help you look at your
  particular development issue?

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Colbys development-environment framework
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Some discussion questions on Colby reading

• How did you like Colbys continuum of
  development strategies?
• Where is the border on this continuum?
• Did you see a role for this in examining
  US-Mexico Border development issues?
• To what degree if any do you see this as being
  useful in your own development research on the
  border?

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Some discussion questions on Streeten reading

• 1) What are the key differences between an income
  approach to development and the basic needs
  approach that Streeten offers in his paper?
• 2) How does Streeten's approach compare with the
  approaches of Campbell/Olson and Colby? Do you
  see strengths in each?
• 3) How might the main thesis of Streeten's
  argument be advanced in the U.S. Mexico border
  region? Can you think of specific steps that
  could be taken to advance these idea?