Growth vs basic needs: Is there a trade-off?

Critics of the basic-needs approach to development have argued that by emphasizing activities which are essentially consumption oriented, the basic-needs approach implies a reduction in the rate of growth. On the other hand, proponents of this approach point to the human capital aspects of basic needs, which could be instrumental in increasing productivity and growth in output. This paper attempts to marshal some further evidence of the growth-basic needs trade-off by undertaking econometric estimates of the variables explaining LDC growth during the 1960–1973 period. The general finding is that countries which had done well on basic needs in 1960 had above average growth rates during the period 1960–1973. Improvement in basic needs during the period are also correlated with higher growth rates of GNP, but it is impossible to ascertain if this improvement is a cause of or an effect of the higher growth in output.     

Basic needs: The case of Sri Lanka

This article has two related objectives: to judge Sri Lanka's success in meeting its ‘basic needs’ and growth objectives, and to use Sri Lanka's experience to cast light on general hypotheses regarding basic needs. The analysis suggests that Sri Lanka's social expenditures had a substantial cost in growth and unemployment. However, largely because of these social programmes, it has the best social indicators, compared to its income, of any country for which data are available. Its growth has, surprisingly, been above average for low-income countries. Implications for basic-needs programmes include the need to ‘target’ social programmes, the high priority of primary education and the potential high impact, but also high costs, of assuring minimum caloric intakes.     

The impact of basic and social infrastructure investment on South African economic growth and development

Basic and social infrastructure investment can assist in addressing widespread inequality and divided societies by promoting economic growth and social development. The aim of this study is to determine whether basic and social infrastructure investment differently affect economic growth and social development indicators of urban and rural municipalities. We used a balanced panel dataset containing infrastructure, economic, demographic and social indicators for rural and urban municipalities for the period from 1996 to 2012. Principal component analysis was used to construct synthetic indices of basic and social infrastructure. Restricted within least squares dummy variable estimation techniques are used to evaluate the differences between urban and rural municipalities. The elasticities of basic and social infrastructure investment generally are more pronounced for economic growth and social development indicators in rural municipalities. These findings could potentially influence policy decisions in terms of infrastructure investment in favour of rural municipalities to increase economic growth and social development.     

Basic needs,agropolitan development,and planning from below

Current treatment of ‘basic needs’ programmes as mere adjuncts to main-stream growth strategies leads to but another version of the well-known strategy of redistribution with growth. The result is emphasis on short-run improvements in consumption levels of target groups below the ‘poverty line’ while primary allocations and effort are devoted to growth in GNP. Distinct from this main-line approach, a normative theory is proposed in which production and distribution would be encompassed within the context of face-to-face political decision-making in appropriately sized ‘agropolitan’ districts. Decision on economic activities would thus be subordinated to a territorial will in an act of reciprocal entitlement between individual and community.     

The basic needs approach: A missing ingredient in development theory?

The poor record of conventional development theories in reducing poverty in developing countries may result from the neglect of certain preconditions that are necessary before the people of a developing country are receptive to conventional economic stimuli. The basic needs approach, in its various forms, focuses on some of these requirements through its emphasis on human development and the recognition that economic development does not take place in a social vacuum.

In this article a critical threshold of basic needs satisfaction is said to be a necessary, but not sufficient, precondition for economic development. Only if such a threshold has been achieved, will a population be receptive to those elements responsible for successful development in economically more‐advanced societies.     

工业企业和谐度评价指标体系研究

企业是社会的细胞,导入和谐理念,构建和谐企业是企业肩负的社会责任。为了客观评价工业企业的和谐度,引导企业走持续、和谐发展之路,文章在阐述构建工业企业和谐度评价指标体系应遵循的基本原则基础上,构建出适合于我国新时期发展需要的工业企业和谐度评价指标体系,并结合指标及指标体系的特点对综合评价方法进行了选择。     

测量中国

通过选择宏观经济增长和大宗商品消费的若干基础性指标,系统观察中国在这些指标上的全球总量占比和增量贡献比,文章对中国经济相对体量及其成长前景加以估测。基本观察结果显示,中国现阶段经济相对体量可用"人均量较小,总量较大,增量很大"概括。定量指标刻画的发展阶段性特征,构成中国重新审视对外经贸政策和战略思维的现实背景。     

Basic needs and human rights

This paper discusses the relationship between basic needs and human rights and addresses such questions as: is the satisfaction of basic needs a human right? or, are human rights themselves basic needs? are there basic needs other than material needs which embrace human rights? do the respect for rights and the satisfaction of needs go together or car there be conflict? The paper attempts to distinguish between a variety of ‘rights’ — positive, negative; social, economic, political, civil — and to clarify the best means by which to achieve maximum fulfilment of these ‘rights’.     

Social indicators,growth and distribution

The recent focus on a basic-needs approach to development has rekindled interest in the relationship between growth, income distribution and indicators of welfare. This paper provides some statistical evidence to support the view that for low-income LDCs, growth is necessary to bring about welfare improvements, as measured by aggregate social indicators. Historically for that group, growth rather than distribution is significantly correlated with indicators. For middle-income LDCs, the scope for improving welfare through redistribution is larger, as supported by correlation analysis results. The statistical evidence is consistent with economic theory and relevant for an effective integration of basic-needs objectives into a strategy of growth and equity.     

Social protection in Lesotho: Innovations and reform challenges

Given its current socioeconomic conditions and fiscal ability, Lesotho has achieved an impressive record in creating a basic social assistance and social protection system, informed by political commitment and through budget reprioritisation. It has set up and administered near universal schemes operating at scale with fairly low transaction costs, addressing core areas and serving vulnerable constituencies – including the aged, orphaned and vulnerable children and children of school-going age. A contribution-based comprehensive national social security scheme to provide coverage for Lesotho workers and their families is also planned. Nevertheless, the task of providing adequate social protection coverage faces systems and delivery challenges; several human development indicators have worsened, and most of the Millennium Development Goals are far from being achieved. There is scope for creating greater fiscal space by establishing a compulsory national contributory scheme, and donor support in the short to medium term is inevitable.     

论社会主义和谐社会的价值内涵

社会主义和谐社会是中国共产党的治国理想和共产党执政的价值取向。追求和谐社会必须首先追问和谐社会的价值。社会的价值就是社会满足人类某种需求。人类社会要满足人类的各种需求,必然要形成符合人类理想和社会发展要求的价值体系。社会主义和谐社会有丰富的内涵,当代中国要建设社会主义和谐社会需从多方面着手。其中,追求公平正义、共同富裕、利益多元、以人为本正是其基本价值诉求。     

Dimensions of Human Development

If human development is “multidimensional” then perhaps we need to discuss what we mean by multidimensional: what is a dimension, and what are the multiple dimensions of interest? This paper develops an account of dimensions of human development, and shows its usefulness and its limitations—both in general and in relation to Amartya Sen's capability approach. The second half of the paper surveys other major “lists” of dimensions that have been published in poverty studies, crosscultural psychology, moral philosophy, quality of life indicators, participatory development, and basic needs, and compares and contrasts them with the account sketched here.     

论农村市场的营销策略

目前 ,社会有效需求不足的问题仍在困扰社会经济的发展。消费需求是社会有效需求的关键组成 ,本文就影响消费需求的各因素进行分析 ,以期通过有效扩大消费需求带动整个经济增长。     

Political econometry of official development assistance

This paper attempts to devise a statistical model that sheds light on the political decision-making process regarding the allocation of aid. The author uses multiple-regression techniques in trying to explain the annual amount of aid donated by a group of developed countries. The results suggest that donor countries' aid decision reflect, among other factors, a range of macroeconomic indicators including unemployment, balance-of-payments position, the central budget and the rate of growth of GNP. These results indicate some possible factors that might influence what is ultimately a political decision.     

Basic needs: Some unsettled questions

Though the large basic needs literature has clarified some issues related to anti-poverty strategies, it has also raised others. This paper identifies some of these unsettled questions: (1) who is to determine basic needs? (2) do basic needs refer to the conditions for a full, long and healthy life or to a specific bundle of goods and services that are deemed to provide opportunity for these conditions? (3) what is the purpose of participation? what form should it take? how does a right to participate (if it exists) relate to the political/administrative structures necessary for efficient implementation of basic needs approach? (4) what is the relationship between the redistribution approach to development and the basic needs approach? does the basic needs approach require fundamental systemic change, or is it a palliative? (5) what is the relation between meeting basic needs as an end in itself and as an instrument for developing human resources? (6) in what manner should international support for basic needs approaches be mobilized? (7) what is the relation between poverty eradication and reducing income inequalities?     

张掖市“十三五”规划时期农村人居环境评价研究

基于乡村振兴战略背景，以张掖市作为研究对象，按照农村人居环境评价指标选取的基本原则，从生态环境、经济发展、基础设施和公共服务4个方面构建16个评价指标，采用熵值法对系统层及指标层16个指标进行综合赋权，测度2016-2020年张掖市农村人居环境发展水平。结果表明，张掖市农村人居环境发展水平呈“W”形发展趋势，先后经历降—升—降—升4个发展阶段，总体呈上升趋势；系统层中，公共服务和基础设施的权重占比最大，对张掖市农村人居环境发展水平影响程度较大；指标层中，对地膜的使用强度权重占比最高，是影响农村人居环境发展水平最为关键的指标。基于评价结果，提出突出农民主体地位、探索循环农业发展模式、构建多产业融合发展模式和健全农村生态环境整治长效机制的思考建议，对提升张掖市农村人居环境发展水平具有一定的参考意义。     

试析我国西部欠发达地区人力资源开发与经济发展的关系

人力资源是现在社会活动中重要的资源,对社会的进步、经济的发展有着关键性的作用。在社会发展中缺少人力资源会导致其他各种资源不能够协调和充分发挥出自身的功能。在新的时代里,人们开始关注并且重视人力资源的开发,提升人力资源的重要地位,人力资源已经成为社会发展中必要的资源,直接影响着社会的经济发展。文章主要概述了人力资源开发相关的理论与概念,分析了西部欠发达地区人力资源开发与经济发展间的相互关系,提出了西部欠发达地区人力资源开发中存在的问题,并制定了相应的解决对策等。     

人的发展指标的构建——基于马克思主义人的自由全面发展理论的分析

主流经济学很少考虑到人的发展问题,而是将其抽象化、同质化,早期的发展经济学也仅仅关注到人的物质需求,所以度量人的发展状况只是单一维度。文章从马克思主义的人的自由全面发展角度提出人的发展四个维度：人的劳动性、需求性、社会性和个性及可持续性,结合已有的关于人类发展的统计考法筛选出度量人的发展的指标。     

宜宾市复合生态系统的能值评价及其可持续发展探析

随着经济总量的增加,作为能源型城市的宜宾在经济增长方式、经济生产结构和城市消费结构上急需进行科学而快速的调整,进而步入人口、资源、环境协调发展的可持续之路。因此本文通过能值分析方法,对宜宾市生态、经济、社会3个子系统的发展状况进行定量化的分析评价,为其科学经济规划提供基础数据平台。     

社会生产和分配的结合与人的生存和发展

社会的构成与人的生存和发展的经济基础是相关联的,社会保障人的生存和发展以生产和分配的结合为基础,而生产和分配的结合对人的生存和发展条件的保障具有决定性作用。实践表明,社会主义初级阶段,生产不能满足全体社会成员生存和发展的需要,是其最主要的社会矛盾。因此,衡量生产和分配结合的好坏,"保障人的生存和发展"这个标准要比"生产关系与生产力相适应"更好。人的发展经济学的研究要能用作制度构建的基础,这样才能够用于指导和服务于保障人的生存和发展的实践活动。对于人的生存和发展而言,经济学应该着重研究生产的组织方式与保障人的生存和发展的关系,着重研究分配的组织方式和保障人的生存和发展的关系,特别要研究生产的组织方式和分配的组织方式的结合对保障人的生存和发展的影响。