Abstract
This paper discusses some of the methodological problems involved in the design of indicators of development. To begin with, two kinds of social indicator are distinguished and defined: descriptive and normative. Unlike the former, the latter involve value judgments. Secondly, the very notion of development is briefly discussed. The idea favored by economists, that development is identical with industrialization, is criticized. It is proposed that genuine development is not only economic but also biological, cultural, and political, for each of these factors conditions the other three. The matter of independent vs. dependent development is discussed, to dispel the illusion that increase in GNP is a faithful development indicator. An indicator of dependence is introduced. Then a whole battery of development indicators is proposed, some of them dominant, others weak, some relative, others absolute, some stray, and others systemic. A case for systemic or theoretical, as opposed to stray or empirical, indicators is made. Finally some ideas on development dynamics are proposed, as a possible basis for a set of deeper and more faithful indicators of development.
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Bunge, Mario, and Máximo, García-Sucre: 1976, ‘Differentiation, participation, and cohesion’, Quality and Quantity 10, pp. 171–178.
Unctad: 1970, Research Memo No. 41, Geneva, 5 November 1970.
Unesco: 1973, Study XXIV, Division of Methods and Analysis, 10 June 1973.
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An earlier version of this paper was presented to the UNESCO meeting on Indicators of Social and Economic Change, Paris, 20–22 May 1974.
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Bunge, M. Development indicators. Soc Indic Res 9, 369–385 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300662
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300662