A Historical Reality of Underdevelopment of Africa

Abstract

Generally, development can simply be considered in the context of economic growth and economic development. More specifically, on one hand, some scholars describe development as not only as a quantitative measure of a growing economy (such as the rate of increase in real income per head). On the other hand, others argue that development is all about an improvement in the quality of life but from the socio-economic aspect rather than only changes that lead to economic growth. It is evident that, there is a difference between the economic development and economic growth though so often they are used interchangeably to refer to progress. Arguably, one would states that growth does not necessarily imply development. Development goes beyond this assumption as changes in the economic growth rate does not imply economic development in real terms. Today, development experts argue that there is a distinction between the more commonly used terms, economic development and economic growth. The challenge is that when development is perceived purely from the growth rate point of view, the outcome is that economic development is often translated to mean economic growth rate even when there is no tangible improvement in the well-being of the people. It can be argued that there is no single established definition of development that which is so comprehensive as to incorporate all the features of development. It can be further debated that economic growth rate does not necessarily mean improvement in economic welfare for the majority poor. An increase in economic well-being does not lead to economic development unless there is resultant distribution of national income across the majority. Ideally, one can clearly state that development is a multi-dimensional and complicated concept. Development is normally conceived as a multi-dimensional process from the economic as well as social and environmental changes. In the recent times, the idea of underdevelopment has gained momentum in both national and international discourse. Maybe because, as the global wealth continues to increase in this age of globalization, only very few nations are gaining and progressing from such expansion, while others many of whom are found in the Third World, have continued to experience underdevelopment. Also, despite the billions of dollars that annually go into the eradication of underdevelopment, it seems the problem instead of reducing, is increasing.