Theories of Development

(RDS-421)
UNIT-I
Introduction to Development
1. What do you mean by development?
2. Distinguish between conventional and unconventional meanings of development.
3. Discuss the weakness of the conventional meaning of development with examples?
4. What is rural development? Describe its three basic elements.
5. How do you analyze the semantic relation between rural development and development?
6. What is community development? Distinguish between community development as a concept and
community development as an approach.
7. Explain the semantic relation between development and community development?
8. What do you mean by the measurement of economic growth and development? Why is it necessary
to measure them?
9. Describe the various indicators used to measure economic growth and development?
10. Criticize the dominant measures/indicators of development with suitable examples.
UNIT-II
Classical and Neoclassical Economics
1. What do you mean by political economy?
2. 'Political economy is not the same for all times and all society’. Elucidate this statement.
3. What do you mean by classical economics? How do you link it to development?
4. Describe the key ideas of Adam Smith related to s of David Ricardo related to development.
5. Describe the key ideas David Ricardo related to development.
6. Explain the development thoughts of John Stuart Mill.
7. How do you compare the development thoughts of Adam Smith, David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill?
Point out the similarities and differences among them.
8. Criticize the classical economics with examples.
9. What do you mean by neoclassical economics? Discuss relation to development in general and rural
development particular.
10. Discuss the similarities and differences between classical economics and neo-classical economics.
11. Criticize neoclassical economics with examples.
UNIT-III
From Keynesian Economics to Neo- liberalism
1. Explain Keynesian economics.
2. Criticize Keynesian economics with examples,
3. What do you mean by social democracy? How is it linked Keynesian economics?
4. Discuss the relation between social democracy and Keynes economics.
5. What do you mean by Keynesian social democracy?
6. What do you mean by development economics?
7. Discuss the main features of development economics.
8. What do you mean by counterrevolution in development economics?
9. What do you mean by sustainable development?
10. Discuss the three dimensions of sustainable development.
11. Discuss the three factors that affect sustainable development.
12. What do you mean by neo-liberalism?
13. Discuss neoliberalism as an economic ideology.
14. Discuss neoliberalism as a set of policy instruments.
15. How do you criticize neo-liberalism? Justify your answer wit examples.
16. There are two groups of people, one seeing neoliberalism a relevant and the other seeing it as
irrelevant. Which side do you take and why?
UNIT: IV
Development and Modernization
1. What do you mean by development as modernization?
2. What do you mean by naturalism?
3. How does naturalism explain development? Explain.
4. What do you mean by rationalism?
5. How does rationalism see development?
5. How does rationalism of development underdevelopment of particular country and explain it from
both naturalistic rationalistic viewpoints.
7. What do you mean by civilized development? How do you link to naturalistic and rationalistic theories
of development?
8. Discuss structural functionalism.
9. What do you mean by the Parsonian Synthesis?
10. Discuss the critique of structural functionalism.
11. What do you mean by modernization theory? Explain with examples.
12. Describe sociological and economic modernization theories.
13. Distinguish between sociological modernization theory and economic modernization theory.
14. Describe the psychological theories of modernization.
15. How do you explain Nepal's underdevelopment using all the three versions of modernization theory?
Explain with examples.
16. Describe the historical stages of growth that societies pass through in the course of their
development?
17. How have various scholars criticized modernization theory/approach? Explain.
18. How do you criticize modernization approach/theory in the context of Nepal's underdevelopment?
UNIT-V
Marxism and Socialism and Development
1. What do you mean by idealism/spiritualism?
2. What do you mean by materialism?
3. Distinguish between idealism/spiritualism and materialism.
4. What do you mean by dialectical materialism? Explain.
5. How do you explain the changes Nepali society has undergone so far from dialectical materialist
viewpoint?
6. "Capital is a social relation". Elucidate this statement from Marxist viewpoint.
7. What do you mean by mode of production? Discuss its various types.
8. What do you mean by development as social transformation?
9. Describe the general-types societies passed through in the course of social transformation?
10. What is socialism? Describe its various types.
11. What do you mean by scientific socialism? In what way does it differ from utopian socialism?
12. What are the two principles that distinguish between socialism and communism?
13. At what point of time after the overthrow of capitalism does the communist principle 'From each
according to his/her ability and to each according to his/her needs' apply? Explain with suitable
examples.
14. What do you mean by structural Marxism?
15. Distinguish between classical Marxism and structural Marxism.
16. Discuss dependency theory with examples.
17. How do you criticize dependency theory? Explain with examples.
18. Describe world system theory with examples.
19. How do you criticize Marxist and Neo-Marxist theories?
UNIT-VI
Feminist Theory of Development
1. Describe feminist epistemology.
2. Discuss three types of feminist epistemology.
3. Why do feminists describe science as a masculine enterprise? Explain with examples.
4. List out the five feminist theories of development and describe them.
5. Discuss the feminist criticism of development theory.
6. 'Development is a masculine project'. Elucidate this statement.
7. What do you mean by Women in Development (WID)? Explain.
8. What do you mean by Women and Development (WAD)?
9. What do you mean by Gender and Development (GAD)? Explain.
10. What do you mean by Women, Environment and Development (WED)? Explain.
11. What do you mean by Postmodernism and Development (PAD)? How do justify that it is a feminist
development theory?
12. Discuss post-modern/post-structural/post-developmental critique of Development.
13. What do you mean by post-development? Describe its key assertions.
14. 'Development is a discourse'. Elucidate this statement.
15. How is development misused by the rich countries? Explain from post-structural/post-modern/post-
developmental viewpoint.