Economics of Growth or Development

There is always a way in which something easily be judged and presented for verification. Even the ideas of a nation doing well has a way that it can be evaluated and presented for verification by someone or anyone to prove the results. I blog more when I feel low, that too can be analyzed in that perspective and like all things which have a way of being analysed, one can easily seen how many blogs I have actively been writing to assess my mood, if I felt low in the past month or not. All these are ways in which one can assess.

The Economics of Growth or simply put, The Economics of Economic Growth, have also there ways in which one can assess the progress a nation is making in attaining certain benchmarks in growth or whatever one wants to find out. And from these, we can see if we have made progress, or gone back in time by taking two steps backwards for every step we took forward. Each of these steps that were undertaken presents a yard stick on which certain levels can be assessed and evaluated.

A country can be called 'Third world' or 'Less Developed Country - LDC' or indeed 'Developed Country' based on certain evaluations or certain benchmarks that it must achieve to be called that. It's this strict following of measurements or sticking to certain aspects of the whole economy that will grade a Nation or degrade it. What issues are considered will determine what a nation is looked at as being.

My economics of growth or development has very few aspects to be looked at. These matter and are good yard sticks to measure any such progress with great easy and accuracy they can be a basis for any evaluation of a nation. With rich tools at our dispossal, using these aspects as measures can surely make analysis easy.

The measurements of development of any nation based on the ideals of simply analysis are:

• Economic growth
• Reduction of Poverty
• Efficient utilization of economic resources

These stand out as a good measure of how well a nation is doing. The definition of these are as vital as any other measure that one can place on a nation for developmental assessment.

Economic Growth
The simplest definition of Economic growth that I know is 'Annual rate of change of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP)', but lets use as many of these as we possibly can make the understanding as inclusive as we can 'long-term expansion of the productive potential of the economy.' (tutor2u.net) sounds the best possible technical yet simple definition of economic growth.
From the two above, we see that economic growth has the basics of any form of growth in life. There is change, and that change is obviously leading to better production, increase in quantity of a good, etc.

This is important as it qualifies what your measurement of that growth will be. If Zambia's economy grows by 7%, it should be clear what elements are being addressed and what implications they have on the people or citizens of that country. What has really changed and what does the change entail for the ordinary person. As only the resulting changes will have an implication on the life of the people.

Reduction of Poverty
Many people see economic growth and reduction of poverty as one and the same. But think about this. If a country produces produce and the following year it increases that production. Will poverty be reduced or will that change be merely an increase in the production of goods? Clearly, the two will not be the same. Reduction of poverty is simply an improvement in the living standards of people while economic growth can be taken as an improvement in the 'producing standards'.

Reduction of poverty has many aspects, and a collection of improvements in these aspects will surely be an improvement of a country's outlook. For example, reduction of unemployment levels will result in a number of people having work and earning a living hence better off than before.

Poverty provides a politically filled aspect of day to day living - especially in Zambia. The government may sound and blow their trumpets at the gains and the resulting economiy growth, the opposition will also roar on the unemployment levels and the low living standards of the common man. Surely one is politically correct and the other isn't, right? Wrong! There is economic growth indeed. But the poverty levels are not changing. Or maybe they are changing slowly!

So they are both politically correct. And the result is one section fondly loved by the well-to-do and the other loved by the common people and unemployed. They appeal to different people as these relate to what is being said and truelly believe the voice they follow has the truth being spread.

For an observer, you simply expect that if economic growth is happening, this should surelu lead to other aspects of an economy to benefits from this growth. It then may lead to lower unemployment levels, inexpensive goods and generally a well fed and looked after population. Unless we expect this economic growth to be strangely setup.

Efficient Utilization of Resources
This generic explaination produces a situation which will have less wastage and more output which will be fairly distributed amongest the people. Its this utilization which will determine what a country gets from the resources. This grouping of resources if not limited to production resources of raw materials but goes further as to include people. A developed country will use its labour in productive ventures and will not waste man hours through shrinking.

So a mixture of the development of these things will surely have a bearing on classifying a country as developed or developing. And should be evaluated in looking at the country and its resources.